NNIS 


7 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 

JUDGE  J.M.    CARTER 


TJ.  X.  WILLIAMS,  2o. 
NATIONAL  CHAMPION.  1914  AND  li)l(i 


MODERN  TENNIS 


BY 
P.  A.  VAILE 

Author  of  "Great  Lawn  Tennis  Players,"  "The  Strokes  and 
Science  of  Lawn  Tennis,"  "Modern  Golf,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY   EXPLANATORY   DIAGRAMS 
AND   ACTION-PHOTOGRAPHS 


SECOND  EDITION  REVISED 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW   YORK   AND   LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1915  AND  1917,  BY 

PUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

(Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America) 


Copyright  under  the  Articles  of  the  Copyright  Convention  of  the 
Pan-American  Republics  and  the  United  States,  August  11,  1910 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED   TO   THE 

WEST  SIDE  TENNIS  CLUB,  NEW  YORK 

IN      RECOLLECTION      OF      MUCH      KINDNESS 

AND    HOSPITALITY    FROM    THOSE    WHO 

ARE    NOW   MY   FELLOW-MEMBERS 


INTRODUCTION 

Being  a  translation  of  the  Preface  by  M.  Max  Decugis,  the  famous 
French  player,  to  the  French  edition  of  this  book. 

Mr.  P.  A.  Vaile  has  asked  me  to  introduce  his 
book  on  Tennis  to  amateur  players  of  this  de- 
lightful game. 

I  will  do  it  simply  and  without  any  pretense  to 
style,  for  I  must  confess  that  I  feel  much  more  at 
home  with  a  racket  in  my  hand  than  with  a  pen 
between  my  fingers. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  noticed  how 
few  and  far  between  are  the  books  on  games  that 
really  deserve  the  name  and  that  treat  authori- 
tatively and  in  a  competent  manner  the  various 
rules  governing  the  particular  game  under  dis- 
cussion. As  a  rule,  one  encounters  no  more  than 
the  enthusiastic  descriptions  of  amateurs,  sincere 
enough,  doubtless,  in  themselves,  but  lacking  the 
technical  knowledge  that  is  absolutely  indispen- 
sable if  the  presentation  of  the  subject  is  to  be  at 
all  convincing.  Or  again,  one  happens  upon  long 
scientific  treatises  by  experts  who,  with  the  figures 
at  their  fingers'  ends,  give  one  the  trajectory  de- 
scribed in  space,  for  instance,  by  a  football,  or,  in 
the  case  of  a  quoit  hurled  by  a  strong  effort,  curves 
of  exceptional  accuracy  but  practically  no  value 
as  creators  of  enthusiasm.  It  is  rarely,  indeed, 
that  we  get  the  practical  side  of  things,  which 
alone  really  interests  the  player.  As  far  as  tennis 
is  concerned,  to  come  down  to  particulars,  tho 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

much  has  been  written  on  the  subject  by  amateurs, 
and  even  by  champions,  we  must  go  to  the  books 
of  those  who  have  made  a  technical  study  of  the 
game  to  find  the  really  interesting  reading.  No 
study  more  complete,  more  practical,  more 
authoritative,  and  at  the  same  time  more  simple 
in  its  intelligibility,  has  been  published  than  the 
work  of  Mr.  P.  A.  Vaile,  entitled  Modern  Tennis. 

In  an  easy,  agreeable  style,  lucid  and  thoroughly 
sportsmanlike,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  tennis  is 
here  explained,  commented  upon,  and  made  abso- 
lutely clear  by  Mr.  Vaile  from  the  simple  forehand 
stroke  to  the  most  complicated  of  the  American 
cut  services,  with  a  detailed  treatment  of  volleys, 
smashes,  backhand  play,  etc.,  in  a  manner  which 
exhibits  the  author's  profound  knowledge  and 
long  experience  of  the  game. 

From  this  book  beginners  can  learn  how  to 
make  the  first  simple  strokes,  and  even  the  method 
of  holding  the  racket — very  important  points  when 
commencing  to  play  the  game,  inasmuch  as  the 
progress  of  a  player  depends  upon  his  style  and, 
consequently,  upon  the  method  by  which  his  play 
has  been  formed  from  its  inception.  In  follow- 
ing Mr.  Vaile 's  advice  to  tyros,  young  players  can 
be  certain  of  acquiring  a  style  of  play  that  will 
be  well  thought  out  and  susceptible  of  rapid  im- 
provement. Players  of  average  skill  will  find  here 
an  analysis  of  the  more  difficult  strokes  which  they 
have  probably  been  long  trying  to  make,  but  with- 
out success,  owing  to  not  knowing  how  to  handle 
them  properly.  There  will  also  be  professionals, 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

nay,  even  champions,  who  will  find  endorsed  and 
carefully  explained  in  this  book  the  strokes  and 
tactics  that  they  hold  most  dear  and  that  they  can 
thus  learn  to  perfect.  All,  in  short,  will  find  in  it 
a  compelling  interest  and  will  gain  from  it  much 
practical  instruction. 

This  last  is,  in  fact,  the  quality  most  character- 
istic of  the  volume,  and  we  know  of  no  higher 
praise  that  can  be  bestowed  upon  it. 

A  little  personal  anecdote  will  serve  to  confirm 
the  theories  of  Mr.  Vaile.  In  October,  1904, 1  was 
in  London,  playing  for  the  covered-court  cham- 
pionship. I  had  reached  the  finals  and  was 
thoughtfully  studying  the  play  of  Gore,  whom  I 
was  to  meet  on  the  morrow,  when  Mr.  Vaile  took 
me  by  the  arm  and,  making  me  sit  beside  him  in 
the  gallery,  opposite  the  center  of  the  court,  said 
to  me,  "Do  you  want  to  beat  Gore  to-morrow?" 
I  indicated  my  doubts  of  the  result  by  a  smile. 
"But  it's  quite  simple!"  said  he.  "This  man 
plays  all  his  balls  to  within  a  yard  at  the  most  of 
the  base-line.  Give  him  one  of  your  long  drives 
down  the  center  and  run  up  to  the  net.  Imagine 
two  tangents  to  your  two  extremes  of  reach  to 
right  and  left,  both  starting  from  the  point  of 
departure  of  the  ball  that  he  returns  to  you.  If 
you  miss  it,  don't  worry,  it  will  be  out  if  your 
position  at  the  net  does  not  enable  you  to  kill  it." 
I  knew  the  value  of  Mr.  Vaile 's  theories  too  well 
not  to  put  them  to  profit.  On  the  morrow,  there- 
fore, from  the  beginning  of  play,  I  put  into 
practise  his  famous  center-theory,  and  won  the 


x  INTRODUCTION 

first  set  6 — 2.  Rendered  over-confident  by  this 
result  I  let  down  a  bit  and  had  the  second  set  won 
from  me  by  6—3  and  the  third  by  6—0.  For- 
tunately I  saw  Mr.  Vaile  at  this  juncture,  who 
pointed  out  to  me  the  value  of  center-play.  I  once 
more  employed  this  system  and  won  the  fourth 
set  6 — 0.  Wearied  with  the  exertion,  I  began  the 
fifth  set  by  playing  in  the  back  court  and  very 
soon  found  myself  at  a  disadvantage  of  1  to  4. 
While  changing  sides,  my  despairing  gaze  en- 
countered that  of  Mr.  Vaile,  who  still  sat  in  the 
gallery  facing  the  center  of  the  court.  He  made  a 
gesture  which  seemed  to  say,  "You  are  not  doing 
what  I  told  you  to  do — so  much  the  worse  for 
you."  This  gesture  saved  me.  I  took  a  new 
racket  to  give  more  speed  to  my  drives  and  Gore 
did  not  get  another  game.  Thanks  to  Mr.  Vaile,  I 
won  the  championship  with  the  remarkable  score 
of  6 — 2,  3 — 6,  0 — 6,  6 — 1,  6 — 4,  which  shows  pretty 
conclusively  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages 
of  remembering  or  forgetting  Mr.  Vaile 's  advice. 

It  is  then  a  good  thing  to  understand  the  theory 
of  the  game  and  a  still  better  one  to  apply  it,  and 
I  can  not  impress  too  strongly  upon  those  players 
who  wish  to  acquire  that  most  difficult-to-master 
of  all  qualities  at  tennis,  which  may  be  termed 
"head,"  that  they  should  saturate  themselves  with 
the  advice  of  Mr.  Vaile.  If  they  do  so  they  will 
progress  without  a  shadow  of  doubt. 

Personally,  I  experience  a  renewed  pleasure 
every  time  I  read  over  these  eminently  workman- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

like  pages,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Vaile's 
book  will  rapidly  become  the  vade  mecum  of  every 
tennis-player  who  deserves  the  title. 

MAX  DECUGIS. 


This  book  was  originally  published  in  London 
in  June,  1904. 

It  went  into  its  second  edition  in  April,  1907. 

So  far  as  was  possible,  the  original  text  has  been 
preserved,  as  otherwise  the  work  would  lose  much 
of  its  force. 

It  is  published  also  in  French  and  German,  and 
is  recognized  as  the  standard  work  on  the  subject. 

English  players  would  not  recognize  the  value 
of  center-theory  until  it  was  borne  in  upon  them 
in  the  manner  described  by  M.  Decugis. 

I  am  much  indebted  to  M.  Decugis  for  his 
valuable  assistance  in  preparing  the  French 
edition  of  this  book  for  publication. 

P.  A.  VAILE. 
New  York,  April  15,  1915. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION       vii 

THE  COURT 1 

IMPLEMENTS          9 

THE  GRIP  OF  THE  RACKET 14 

THE  GAME 17 

STROKES — CLASS  I 

Service 18 

The  Forehand  Stroke       25 

The  Backhand  Stroke       . .      32 

The  Half -Volley         36 

The  Volley 39 

The  Lob- Volley 45 

The  Forehand  Overhead  Volley     . .      . .     46 

The  Lob        . .     . .     49 

THE  FLIGHT  OP  THE  BALL       51 

STROKES — CLASS  II 

Service 55 

The  Forehand  Drive 66 

The  Backhand  Drive./ 82 

The  Chop      99 

The  Lob        . .      . .      106 

The  Volley Ill 

THE  MODERN  SERVICE        . .   114 

FOOT-FAULTS         130 

THE  LADIES  140 


xiv  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  SINGLE  GAME     148 

DOUBLES         167 

MIXED  DOUBLES 178 

LADIES'  SINGLES 183 

LADIES'  DOUBLES         188 

PRACTISE        189 

TOURNAMENT  PLAY 192 

UMPIRING  AND  THE  LINESMAN 197 

ENGLISH  AND  AUSTRALASIAN  TENNIS  COMPARED  199 

ENGLISH  TENNIS 204 

PERSONALITIES       213 

How  AMERICA  CAN  REGAIN  THE  DAVIS  CUP  . .   222 

INTERNATIONAL  TENNIS       239 

LAWS  OF  TENNIS 246 

CRITICISM  OF  THE  LAWS 257 

REGULATIONS  FOR  THE  INTERNATIONAL  LAWN- 
TENNIS  CHAMPIONSHIP  (DAVIS  CUP)     . .   264 
REGULATIONS  FOR  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  TENNIS 

TOURNAMENTS       272 

REGULATIONS   FOR   INTERSCHOLASTIC    TOURNA- 
MENTS      289 

CASES  AND  DECISIONS 290 

THE  MODERN  FOREHAND  AND  THE  PULL  . .      . .  298 
INDEX  .  315 


TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS 


1  How  to  Mark  the   Court 5 

2  The  Court        7 

3  The  Net 8 

4  Angles  of  Service 20 

5  Position  of  Feet  for  Forehand  Stroke 28 

6  Position  of  Feet  for  Backhand  Stroke 33 

7  Positions  of  Racket  in  Half- Volleying 38 

8  Forehand  Overhead  Cut  Service       56 

9  Reverse  Overhead  Cut  Service 59 

10  Underhand  Forehand  Cut  Service -.      . .     60 

11  American  Service  and  Reverse  American  Service  . .     61 

12  Action  of  Racket  in  American  Service  and  Reverse 

American  Service       63 

13  Forehand  Drive  with  Lift 67 

14  Flight  and  Bound  of  Ball  in  the  Forehand  Drive 

with  Lift 69 

15  Rotation  of  Ball  on  Net  after  Lift         71 

16  Rotation  of  Ball  on  Net  after  Cut  or  Chop  . .     . .     72 

17  Natural  Tendencies  of  Drive  with  Lift 73 

18  How  Lift  to  Lift  Checks  Rotation  of  Ball   . .     . .     74 

19  Principle  of  Lifting  Drive 75 

20  Error  of  Playing  Rising  Ball  with  Vertical  Face  . .     79 

21  Correct  Position  of  Racket  for  Playing  Rising  Ball    79 

22  How  to  Play  the  Chop 100 

23  Effect  of  Playing  Chopped  Ball  without  Force   . .  102 

24  Flight  and  Bound  of  the  Ball  in  Plain  Drive,  Lifting 

Drive,    and    Chop      105 

25  Flight,  Bound,  and  Return  of  Cut  Lob 107 

26  Diagram  Showing  Value  of  Center-Theory   . .      . .  153 

27  Position  for  Receiver  of  Service       156 

28  Theory  of  Halving  Distance  for  Lobs       161 


xvi  TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

29  Value  of  Centering  the  Service 171 

30  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin  Playing  Forehand  Drive  . .  225 

31  R.  N.  Williams,  2d,  at  End  of  Backward  Swing  in 

Backhand  Stroke       232 

32  R.  N.  Williams,  2d,  Halfway  Through  a  Backhand 

Stroke 233 

33  Maurice   E.   McLoughlin,    Showing   Swing-back   in 

Backhand    Drive 236 

34  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin,  Showing  Finish  of  Back- 

hand Stroke  .  237 


FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


TACINd 
PLATE  PAGE 

1  R.  N.  Williams,  2d Frontispiece 

2  Forehand  Grips      14 

3  Backhand  Grips 16 

4  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin — Start  of  Service       . .      . .  20 

5  Upward  Swing 24 

6  Just  Before  Impact 30 

7  Just  After  Impact 36 

8  Finish  of  Service     40 

9  Norman   E.   Brookes — About  to   Serve 48 

10  Upward  Swing  Before  Impact       52 

11  Moment  of  Impact 56 

12  Just  After  Impact 64 

13  Finish  of  Service      68 

14  Anthony  F.  Wilding— Start  of  Sendee 72 

15  Just  Before  Impact         76 

16  Just  After  Impact 80 

17  Finish  of  Service     88 

18  R.  N.  Williams,  2d— Back  Swing  in  Service  . .      . .     92 

19  Thomas  C.  Bundy — Reverse  Service,  Swing-back  . .     96 

20  P.  A.  Vaile — Reverse  Service,   Swing-back   . .     . .  100 

21  Just  Before  Impact 108 

22  Thomas    C.    Bundy — Reverse    Service,   Moment    of 

Impact          112 

23  P.  A.  Vaile — Reverse  Service,  Moment  of  Impact  . .  116 

24  Thomas    C.    Bundy — Reverse    Service,    Finish    of 

Stroke          120 

25  Norman  E.  Brookes — Forehand  Drive,  Swing-back  128 

26  Finish   of    Stroke      132 

27  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin — Forehand  Drive,  Just  Be- 

fore Impact        136 


xviii       FULL-PAGE    ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


28  R.  N.  Williams,  2d— Forehand  Drive,   Just   After 

Impact          144 

29  Thomas    C.    Bundy — The    Chop,    Swing-back,    and 

Finish  of  Stroke       148 

30  P.  A.  Vaile — Low  Backhand  Drive,  Swing-back   . .  156 

31  Just  Before  Impact 158 

32  Moment  After  Impact 160 

33  Turnover  of  Arm       162 

34  Finish  of  Stroke       164 

35  T.  R.  Pell— Low  Backhand  Drive,  Backward  Swing  176 

36  (a)   Top  of  Swing.     (&)   Before  Impact  ..  180 

37  Just  Before  Impact 184 

38  Turnover  Just  After  Impact 192 

39  Finish  of  Stroke       196 

40  T.  R.  Pell— Horizontal  Backhand  Drive,  Start,  and 

Swing-back         200 

41  Coming  Onto  the  Ball 208 

42  Cramped  Drive  off  Body 212 

43  Before  Impact 216 

44  (a)    Just  Before  Impact.     (&)    The  Follow- 

through     220 

45  Finish  of  Stroke       228 

46  T.    R.    Pell— Backhand    Drive    off    High    Bound, 

Swing-back          234 

47  Norman   E.  Brookes — Backhand   Stroke   in   Stride, 

Impact         240 

48  Anthony  F.  Wilding— (a)  Backhand  Stroke,  Finish. 

(b)  Back-swing  in  the  Smash       244 

49  William  M.  Johnston — The  Low  Forehand  Which  Is 

the  Foundation  Stroke  of  Tennis.     Finish  of  a 
Forehand  Drive 304 

50  William    M.    Johnston — A    Forehand    Volley.      A 

Backhand  Chop.    Showing  Johnston's  Grip..      ..  312 


MODERN   TENNIS 


THE   COUET 

THERE  are  many  different  kinds  of  courts,  such 
as  grass,  asphalt,  cement,  clay,  wood,  etc.,  but 
to  my  mind  there  is  really  only  one  court  which 
absolutely  fits  the  game,  and  that  is  a  good  grass 
court.  Nearly  all  others  make  the  ball  dirty  in  a 
very  short  time,  and  once  a  ball  has  lost  its  virgin 
purity,  it  has  no  charm  for  me.  Many,  however, 
are  not  so  particular,  and  can  derive  much  pleas- 
ure from  playing  with  drab  balls  in  a  dim  light,  as 
is  so  often  done  in  covered  courts.  Nothing  can 
surpass  a  fast,  true,  grass  court,  and  he  who  would 
excel  at  the  game  should  endeavor  to  secure  his 
practise  on  such  a  one,  altho  when  that  is  not 
available,  a  very  good  game  may  be  played  upon 
the  aforesaid  substitutes. 

HOW  TO  LAY  OUT  A  GRASS  COURT 

Employ  some  one  who  knows  how  to  do  it.  All 
other  ways  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare  for  ninety- 
nine  of  every  hundred,  and  probably  quite  half 
a  delusion  for  the  hundredth.  I  have  laid  out 
many,  and  know,  that  at  this  game,  I  will  back  the 
professional  against  the  amateur  every  time.  In 
addition  to  employing  the  man  who  knows  how  to 


2  MODERN  TENNIS 

get  the  surface  for  you,  get  some  friend  who  knows 
the  game  to  see  the  court  (or  courts)  laid  out, 
otherwise  there  is  a  fair  chance  of  the  work  being 
spoiled  for  you. 

He  should  see  to  the  following  points.  The  full- 
sized  double  court  is  78  feet  by  36  feet.  I  consider 
that  you  should  have  a  clear  space  on  each  side- 
line of  quite  four  yards  if  possible,  and  at  each 
base-line  there  should  certainly  be  eight  yards  and, 
if  it  can  be  spared,  nine  or  ten.  This  would  make 
a  desirable  size  for  your  lawn,  say,  roughly,  132 
feet  by  64.  If  you  are  laying  down  several  courts, 
you  will  not  require  such  breadth,  as  one  borrows 
from  the  other,  and  it  would  be  sufficient  then  to 
have  between  the  courts  but  little  more  than  you 
would  allow  on  the  side-line  of  one  court.  It  is  not, 
in  my  opinion,  advisable  to  have  your  background 
too  far  from  your  base-line,  as  I  think  one  gets  a 
better  idea  of  the  length  of  the  court  if  the  back- 
ground rises  somewhere  about  the  distance  sug- 
gested by  me.  I  was  once  quite  paralyzed  by  being 
called  upon  to  play  on  an  open  space,  on  a  per- 
fect court,  but  with  no  background,  not  even  a 
net.  If  it  were  practicable,  I  should  like  to  see 
the  length  at  which  the  background  rises  settled 
by  law. 

Any  one  not  acquainted  with  the  game  might 
think  I  am  very  generous  in  the  matter  of  space, 
considering  that  a  court  only  78  feet  by  36  feet 
is  required,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a 


THE   COURT  3 

ball  pitching  on  the  base-line  may  bound  four  or 
five  yards;  the  player's  arm  and  racket,  together 
with  his  swing,  will  account  for  nearly  another 
three  yards.  In  addition  to  this,  a  player  should 
always  be  able  to  advance  onto  the  ball,  so  you 
will  see  that  nine  yards  is  not  so  much,  especially 
when  you  consider  the  moral  effect  of  the  wall  or 
netting,  which  I  can  assure  you  is  large,  very  large, 
if  you  merely  feel  as  you  are  running  for  a  ball 
that  you  are  going  to  hit  the  fence  either  with  your 
body  or  the  racket. 

For  all  ordinary  play,  any  green  hedge  makes  a 
good  background,  but  it  should  always  have  wire 
netting  before  it. 

You  must  endeavor  so  to  lay  out  your  court 
that  the  sun  shall  at  all  times  pass  as  nearly  as 
may  be  across  it  in  the  same  line  as  the  net. 

The  dimensions  of  the  court  have  often  caused 
me  considerable  thought.  I  have  never  read  any- 
thing which  went  to  show  how  the  size  of  the 
single  and  double  courts  was  arrived  at.  It  seems 
that  they  have,  like  Topsy,  "just  growed"  that 
way.  I  have  never  heard  that  they  were  designed 
with  any  particular  ideas  of  proportion.  We  are 
so  accustomed  to  them  that  we  are  inclined  to  think 
that  they  are  as  nearly  perfect  as  they  may  be. 

This  is  not  always  a  good  condition  of  mind. 
If  I  thought  there  was  any  danger  of  the  game 
developing  into  pat-ball,  and  in  England  there 
have  been  signs,  I  should  suggest  giving  the  court 


4  MODERN  TENNIS 

an  extra  eighteen  inches  at  each  end,  which  would 
make  the  singles-court  exactly  three  times  the 
length  of  its  breadth.  I  should  retain  the  present 
service-line  and  base-line,  and  serve  as  now;  but 
think  of  the  drives  we  should  see.  When  I  see 
pat-ball  too  far  advanced,  I  shall  advocate  the 
extra  length. 

[In  the  American  game  it  is  possible  that  the 
extra  length  may  be  required  in  time,  but  for  an 
entirely  different  reason,  namely,  to  limit  the 
speed  of  the  service  and  prevent  the  too  rapid  ar- 
rival of  the  server  at  the  net.] 

HOW  TO  MAEK  A  COUET 

This  is  not  the  way  most  people  do  it,  but  it  is 
my  way,  and  is  very  simple  and  easily  remem- 
bered. Lay  down  your  side-line,  A  B,  of  seventy- 
eight  feet,  wherever  you  intend  to  have  it,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  1.  You  must  now  remember  the 
simple  fact  that  the  figures  3,  4,  and  5,  or  any  mul- 
tiple of  them,  will  give  you  a  right  angle,  so  you 
put  in  a  peg  at  C,  four  feet  from  B.  Your  as- 
sistant stands  at  B,  and  you  measure  out  twelve 
feet  of  tape,  that  is  the  sum  of  3,  4,  and  5,  and 
give  him  both  ends  of  the  tape  to  hold  at  B.  You 
then  pass  the  tape  round  C,  at  the  four-foot  mark. 
Then  you  take  another  peg  and  put  it  in  at  the 
corner  D  of  the  triangle  made  by  stretching  the 
tape  tightly  at  the  nine-foot  mark.  You  have  now 
your  right  angle,  and  as  every  line  of  a  tennis- 


THE   COURT 


u i 


10        II       12  & 


6  MODERN  TENNIS 

court  is  parallel  with  another  the  rest  is  simple: 
you  have  only  to  measure  the  same  distance  apart 
at  each  end  to  get  your  other  lines.  Any  multiple 
of  the  above  figures,  such  as  6,  8,  and  10,  will  give 
you  the  same  result,  and  it  really  is  better  to  take 
a  multiple  of  3,  4,  and  5,  but  that  is  your  formula, 
and  is  so  simple  that  you  can  not  forget  it.  This 
is  really  a  better  method  than  that  usually  advo- 
cated of  taking  the  measurement  at  the  net,  and 
working  from  that  on  the  diagonal  and  side-line, 
as  in  that  case  you  may  easily,  through  an  error 
of  an  inch  or  two  in  the  angle  of  the  cross- 
measurement,  get  your  long  side-line  considerably 
out  of  line  with  some  fence  or  hedge  running  with 
it,  which  looks  very  unsightly,  and  you  will  not 
see  this  until  you  have  had  all  your  trouble  for 
nothing.  With  my  method,  that  can  not  happen, 
unless  your  eye  is  so  crooked  that  you  ought  not 
to  be  marking  out  a  lawn. 

The  marking  of  the  court  and  the  measurements, 
also  elevations  of  singles  and  doubles  nets,  are 
shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3. 

The  net-posts  are  placed  three  feet  outside  the 
side-lines  both  for  the  single  and  double  game.  As 
the  single  game  is  frequently  played  over  a  double 
net,  standards  three  feet  six  inches  high  are  put 
underneath  the  net  in  a  position  where  the  posts 
should  be.  See  Fig.  3. 

You  will  notice  in  the  plan  of  the  double  court 
included  in  copies  of  the  rules,  that  the  side-lines 


THE   COURT 


46 

•i 

i 

46 

5 

I 

13$ 

8 

13  6 

8 

<M 

o-^- 

N 

8 

13   6 

13   6 

I 

9 

CO 

4  6 

2 

7 

46 

8 


MODERN  TENNIS 


of  the  service-court  are  not  produced  beyond  the 
service-line.  This  is  the  correct  marking  of  a 
double  court,  but  is,  in  actual  practise,  rarely 

DOUBLES  NET  IN  POSITION  FOE  USE 


3ft. 


Singles 
Side-Line 
Doubles 
Side-Line 


Center  Standard 
3ft.  High 


Post 

3  ft.  6  in. 
High 


DOUBLES  NET  WITH  STANDARDS  INSEBTED  FOR  USE  AS  SINGLES  NET 


FIGURE  3 


seen,  for  the  simple  reason  that  as  the  court  is 
generally  used  for  both  singles  and  doubles,  it  is 
marked  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  so  that  it  may  be  used 
for  both. 


IMPLEMENTS 

Rackets. — If  you  are  a  beginner,  your  best  plan 
is  to  try  to  get  some  one  who  knows  something 
about  the  game  to  assist  you  in  your  choice,  but 
if  you  can  not  do  this,  my  advice  to  you  is  to  go 
to  some  reputable  dealer,  and  get  him  to  assist 
you. 

If  you  are  a  man,  you  can  not  do  better  than  get 
a  fourteen  ounce  racket;  if  a  lady,  a  thirteen 
ounce  will  do.  You  may  vary  these  weights  after- 
ward when  you  know  more,  but  they  are  good 
enough  for  any  one  to  start  with.  These  are  the 
weights  generally  used  in  England.  Personally, 
unless  a  player  is  very  strong,  I  should  always 
recommend  fourteen  ounces  for  a  man  and  thir- 
teen ounces  for  a  lady.  Above  these  weights  there 
is  danger  of  losing  quickness,  particularly  in  vol- 
leying. 

There  is  at  present  a  fad  for  rackets  with  very 
large  handles.  I  should  not  advise  any  one, 
especially  a  beginner,  to  buy  such  a  one.  In  my 
opinion  it  stiffens  the  wrist  too  much.  Choose  a 
racket  with  a  nice,  easy  "grip,"  or,  to  put  it 
plainly,  get  a  racket  with  a  handle  which  you  can 
hold  easily  and  naturally.  Since  this  was  written, 


10  MODERN  TENNIS 

and  players  have  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
what  Mr.  N.  E.  Brookes  can  do  with  his  very  light, 
thin-handled  racket,  there  has  been  a  great  de- 
crease in  the  number  of  large-handled  rackets.  I 
am  pleased  to  see  this,  as  they  tend  to  spoil  the 
game. 

Dress. — Most  people  use  a  shoe  with  a  red 
rubber  sole.  These  are  very  good  if  the  rubber  is 
good,  but  personally  I  always  think  they  are  un- 
necessarily heavy.  In  matters  of  tennis  dress,  I 
am  a  little  unorthodox.  I  wear  knickerbockers* — 
the  best  garb  for  tennis — a  soft  shirt  without  any 
starch,  and  I  roll  up  my  sleeves.  My  shoes  are 
the  lightest  rubber-soled  shoes  I  can  get  made,  and 
they  lace  on  to  my  foot  like  a  running-shoe.  You 
have  heard  the  old  racing  saying,  speaking  of  a 
horse's  plates  or  shoes,  "Better  a  stone  on  his 
back  than  an  ounce  on  his  heels";  well,  there  is 
no  doubt  it  applies  equally  to  a  man  at  tennis.  My 
advice  to  players  is  to  wear  the  thinnest  and 
lightest  shoe  that  their  feet  will  allow  them  to,  and 
above  all  things,  have  it  tight.  It  is  amazing  what 
this  means  in  starting.  See,  however,  that  it  does 


*  Several  years  ago  I  gave  up  wearing  knickerbockers,  as 
I  found  them  too  hot  for  the  northern  hemisphere.  I  still 
think  they  are  the  best  garb  for  the  game,  unless  one  were 
allowed  to  use  shorts.  One  can  move  much  more  quickly 
in  them  than  in  trousers.  Can  any  one  imagine  a  baseballer 
in  trousers! 


IMPLEMENTS  11 

not  pinch,  and  particularly  that  it  is  not  too  short. 
The  shoe  I  speak  of  fits  like  a  glove,  and  is  as 
soft.  I  am  as  strongly  against  heavy  shoes  as  I 
am  against  big  handles.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of 
accustoming  yourself  to  the  light  ones.  If  you 
wanted  to,  you  could  soon  play  barefoot  in  com- 
fort. If  you  find  that  you  really  require  extra 
padding  under  your  feet,  I  would  suggest  thick- 
soled  stockings  or  socks.  These  you  can  have 
made  to  order.  In  wet  weather  you  may  require 
leather-soled  shoes  with  steel  points,  which  are 
small  steel  spikes  fastened  into  the  shoe. 

This  matter  of  light  shoes  is  of  far  more  impor- 
tance than  most  players  think  it  is.  Many  English 
players  use  for  soft  grass  lawns  the  same  heavy 
shoes  which  carry  them  in  comfort  on  covered 
courts.  The  English  player  is  not  too  quick  about 
the  court.  I  think  he  anchors  himself  unneces- 
sarily. I  shall  give  you  an  instance  of  what  I 
mean. 

I  was  much  interested  in  the  boots — they  were 
boots — that  a  champion  player  was  wearing.  I 
weighed  them.  They  scaled  eighteen  ounces  each. 
I  weighed  mine,  and  found,  that  altho  they  were  a 
little  heavier,  and  not  so  well  made  as  the  shoe  I 
generally  use,  they  weighed  exactly  six  ounces 
each,  or  one- third  of  the  English  boot. 


1^  MODERN  TENNIS 

I  then  worked  out  this  little  suiu. 

English   boot 18  ounces 

My   shoe 6  ounces 


English  player  carries  extra  weight 

each  step  of .12  ounces 

Allow  five  steps  per  second  and 
he  then  carries  every  second  ex- 
tra weight  of (12  oz.  X  5)  =60  ounces 

and  per  minute 60 


16)3,600  ounces 


or  reduced  to  pounds 225 

60 


and  per  hour 13,500  pounds 

If  the  match  lasts  three  hours  he 

will  carry  extra  weight  in  pounds 

of      .     .  3 


Reduce  this  to  tons 2240)40500(18 

2240 


18100 
17920 

180 

and  you  will  find  that  the  man  with  the  pedal  dumb- 
bells carries  18  tons  and  180  pounds  more  than  I 
do.  This  is  a  mere  trifle,  of  course,  to  a  strong 
man,  but  altho  I  am  by  no  means  a  weakling,  I 
prefer  to  be  without  it.  I  wish  it  to  be  understood 
that  I  will  not  guarantee  the  accuracy  of  my  calcu- 
lations. I  was  never  good  at  advanced  mathe- 
matics, but  my  little  sum  will  give  all  of  you,  who 
use  pedal  dumb-bells  instead  of  shoes,  something 
to  think  about.  Comparatively  few  players  wear 
boots,  but  the  shoe  generally  worn  is  quite  twice 


IMPLEMENTS  13 

the  weight  of  mine,  and  then  the  player  only  car- 
ries about  9  tons  and  90  pounds  more  than  I  do, 
and  his  shoes  don't  get  lighter  as  the  player  gets 
more  exhausted. 

On  hard  courts  some  players  find  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  use  a  heavier  sole  in  order  to  save 
their  feet.  Even  then  it  is  advisable  to  have  a 
reasonably  light  sole. 

Care  of  Racket. — A  tennis-racket  is,  like  a 
bicycle,  essentially  a  fine-weather  machine — for 
enjoyment — and  for  the  man  who  uses  his  in  wet 
weather,  unless  forced  to,  I  have  no  advice.  He 
deserves  to  buy  others.  If,  however,  you  have  to 
play  in  the  wet,  give  your  racket  a  dressing  of 
gut-preserver  or  beef  fat  before  you  go  out,  and 
directly  you  come  in  wipe  it  carefully,  grease  it 
again,  and  put  it  away  in  your  press.  In  America 
a  racket  should  always  be  kept  in  a  case,  as  the 
climate  is  very  severe  on  the  gut. 


THE  GRIP  OF  THE  BACKET 

THE  accompanying  illustrations  will  show  my 
readers  what  I  think  the  best  method  of  holding 
the  racket.  From  these  it  will  be  seen  that  I  advo- 
cate changing  the  grip  for  the  backhand  stroke. 
Some  players  do  not  change,  but  they  are  generally 
eccentricities,  and  I  am  speaking  now  for  the  mass 
of  normally  developed  players. 

Many  players  put  the  thumb  up  the  handle  at 
the  back  of  the  racket  while  playing  the  back- 
hand stroke.  It  is  undeniable  that  a  very  fine 
backhand  stroke  can  be  thus  played. 

This,  probably,  is  the  best  grip  for  all  ground- 
strokes  on  the  backhand.  Nearly  all  the  best 
backhand  drivers  use  it,  but  it  is  not  necessarily 
best  for  everybody.  The  fact  that  Norman 
Brookes  uses  the  grip  with  the  thumb  around  the 
racket  is  enough  to  show  that  it  has  merit,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  few  players  have  a  wrist 
so  flexible  as  his. 

I  am  giving  illustrations  of  the  English  grip. 
I  must  say,  however,  that  I  can  not  see  any  good 
points  in  the  prevalent  English  grip  which  those 
shown  by  me  do  not  possess.  You  will  notice  that 

14 


The    proper    forehand    grip    of    the    racket,    showing   arm    and 
racket-handle  in  line. 


The  same  grip,  but  with  the  leather  in   the  hand.     This  is  the 
old  grip  and  is  the  freest. 


The   English   forehand   grip,   which   is   quite  unsuitable   for   the 
true  game  of  tennis. 

FOREHAND   GRIPS 
PLATE  2 


THE   GRIP   OF   THE   BACKET        15 

the  English  grips  form  the  forearm  and  racket 
into  a  kind  of  very  wide  V.  Many  of  our  best 
strokes  are  played  as  tho  the  racket  and  arm  to 
the  elbow  were  one  piece  which  is  operated  from 
the  elbow.  "Would  one  construct  a  shaft  for  a 
golf-club,  or  a  handle  for  a  bat  with  an  angle  in  it? 
I  think  not.  Why  then  put  the  angle  in  where  it 
is  totally  unnecessary,  and  so  far  as  I  can  see  a 
detriment  rather  than  an  advantage.  Take  the 
backhand,  for  instance,  and  you  will  see  the  Eng- 
lish grip  works  the  wrist  as  if  on  a  pivot,  and 
that  the  back  of  the  forearm  is  toward  the  net. 
Hold  your  racket  and  press  the  head  round  against 
your  grip,  and  you  will  find  how  powerless  you 
are.  Grip  it  as  shown  by  me  with  the  thumb  up 
the  back  of,  or  right  round  the  handle,  and  the 
racket  braced  across  the  joint  of  the  wrist,  and 
try  a  volley  or  two,  and  you  will  be  astonished  to 
find  the  difference  there  is  in  the  power.  The 
prevalent  hold  and  big  handles  are  not,  I  think, 
calculated  to  improve  volleying. 

Some  argue  that  with  this  hold  one  can  snap 
backhand  half-volleys  much  further  back.  One 
may  be  able  to.  I  get  very  few  I  can  not  convert 
into  volleys  by  going  forward,  and  I  prefer  this 
method  to  destroying  my  wrist-work  by  a  hold 
which  is  quite  unsuitable  for  me.  Still  this  is  only 
my  opinion.  If  I  had  wanted  you  to  adopt  it  with- 
out question  I  should  not  have  shown  you  the  other 
holds.  You  see  them  all  and  have  read  what  I 


16  MODERN  TENNIS 

think  of  them.     See  which  suits  you  best  and  take 
it.* 

It  may  be  that  these  grips  will  not  exactly  suit 
you.  If  you  can  not  use  them,  you  must  get  as 
near  to  them,  or  that  one  which  you  select  as  most 
suitable  for  you,  as  you  can. 


*  Since  this  was  written  the  English  grips  have  been  proved 
wrong  and  unreliable. 


Backhand  grip.  Thumb  around  handle.  Front  view.  Note 
that  the  racket  and  the  forearm  are  in  line.  This  is  a  line  grip  for 
volleying. 


Backhand  grip.      Rear  view  of  the  hold  shown  above.     Norman 
K.  Brookes  uses  this  hold  for  all  backhand  strokes. 


Backhand  grip  with  thumb  straight  up  handle.     This  is  probably 
the  best  grip  for  all  backhand  ground  strokes. 


The  English  backhand  grip.     Notice  the  angle  between  the  arm 
and  the  racket-handle,  which  causes  inaccuracy  and  loss  of  power. 

BACKHAND  GRIPS 
PLATE  3 


THE  GAME 

MOST  writers  who  have  dealt  with  this  subject 
profess  to  address  themselves  to  beginners,  but  it 
always  seems  to  me  that  they  jump  them  rather 
suddenly  into  difficult  exercises  before  they  have 
taught  them  their  scales.  I  intend  to  give  the 
scales  first,  and  afterward  to  try  to  teach  my 
pupils  some  of  the  exercises.  For  this  purpose, 
the  strokes  in  Tennis  may  be  conveniently  divided 
into  two  great  classes. 

I.  Those  which  are  played  with  a  plain-face 
racket,  in  other  words,  those  in  which  the  racket 
strikes  the  ball  fairly  and  truly,  and  projects  it  on 
its  course  with  a  minimum  of  rotation. 

II.  Those    which   are    played    by    the    racket 
striking  the  ball  while  moving  at  an  angle  to  the 
intended  line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  and  thus  pro- 
jecting it  through  the  air  with  a  considerable 
amount  of  rotation  on  it. 

The  first  are  the  simple  and  natural  strokes 
which  most  beginners  would  play  unless  they  were 
shown  the  others,  so  I  propose  to  deal  first  with 
them. 


17 


STROKES  — CLASS    I 

SERVICE 

A  GOOD  service  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  a 
tennis-player,  and  it  is  by  no  means  so  hard  to 
acquire  as  many  beginners  seem  to  think.  I  would 
strongly  impress  on  those  who  desire  to  excel  in 
this  respect  two  points: 

1.  Do  not  try  to  hit  your  ball  down  into  the  serv- 
ice court.    Get  that  idea  out  of  your  head.    Hit  it 
away  from  you.    It  already  has  downward  motion 
before  you  hit  it,  and  there  is  such  a  thing  as  gravi- 
tation.   Hit  it  hard,  and  hit  it  away  from  you. 

2.  Make  your  faults  over  the  service-line.  Do  not 
put  them  in  the  net.    I  should  prefer  to  see  you 
hitting  the  base-line  at  first,  instead  of  the  net 
about  a  foot  from  the  ground. 

This  may  sound  silly  to  some  who  are  wiser  than 
the  writer,  but  there  are  glimmerings  of  reason  in 
these  points,  as  I  hope  to  show  later  on. 

To  deliver  the  service,  take  your  stand  behind 
the  base-line  with  your  weight  on  your  right  foot 
(I  am  assuming  you  are  right-handed,  otherwise 
my  directions  will  be  reversed) ;  throw  the  ball  up 
until  it  is  above  your  right  ear,  and  some  six  or 
nine  inches  beyond  reach  of  your  racket.  Imme- 
diately it  gets  within  reach  of  the  center  of  your 
racket,  strike  it  with  the  center  of  your  racket,  so 

18 


SERVICE  19 

that  it  is  propelled  over  the  net  and  falls  into  the 
service-court  diagonally  opposite  to  you.  At  first 
you  will  no  doubt  do  this  in  the  nature  of  a  pat  and 
without  much  swing.  When,  however,  you  have 
acquired  a  reasonable  degree  of  accuracy  in  get- 
ting the  ball  over  the  net,  you  must  endeavor 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  act  of  throwing 
the  ball  up  into  the  air  to  swing  your  racket  well 
back  behind  your  head,*  so  that  at  the  moment  the 
ball  comes  within  striking  distance — of  the  center 
of  your  racket,  remember — you  have  worked 
up  a  considerable  momentum,  which  is  accentuated 
at  the  moment  of  striking  the  ball  by  the  fact 
that  you  are  slightly  more  than  half  way  through 
the  act  of  transferring  the  weight  of  the  body 
from  the  right  leg  to  the  left.  This  transference 
of  weight  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  this,  as 
in  nearly  every  other  stroke  in  the  game,  altho  it 
is  not  sufficiently  insisted  upon  by  writers.  As 
you  acquire  greater  accuracy,  you  may,  if  you 
desire  it,  throw  the  ball  higher.  Many  good 
players  do  so,  but  I  must  confess  that  I  do  not 
see  much  to  be  gained  by  throwing  it  very  high. 
Every  golfer  has  had  the  rule,  "Keep  your  eye 


*  In  my  overhead  forehand  service  the  racket  generally 
hangs  by  my  right  foot.  As  the  ball  is  thrown  up,  the  racket 
rises  and  passes  behind  my  back,  the  head  of  it  falls  and  makes 
a  turn  like  an  Indian  club.  By  this  time  the  ball  is  within 
reach,  and  the  racket  strikes  it  with  a  lot  of  momentum.  It 
sounds  rather  like  a  theatrical  service,  but  is  really  easy  and 
natural,  and  is  used  by  many  players. 


20  MODERN  TENNIS 

on  the  ball,"  packed  into  him  ad  nauseam.  It  is 
just  as  important  in  this  game.  I  go  further  and 
say,  "Keep  your  eye  on  the  bit  you  intend  to  hit." 
Of  almost  equal  importance  is  the  matter  of 
transferring  the  weight  from  the  one  leg  to  the 
other  at  the  psychological  moment.  Every  golfer 
knows  what  this  means.  If  his  weight  be  not 
properly  transferred  at  the  critical  moment,  his 
drive  suffers.  I  have  tried  again  and  again  to 


t:C  F 

HEPRESENTS     ACCORDING    TO 

FLAYER'S      HEIGHT      FROM 

3    FT.    UPWARD 

FIGURE  4 


make  young  players  understand  this,  yet  some  of 
them  persist  in  standing  at  the  base-line,  and 
giving  the  ball  half -arm  pats  without  any  "body" 
in  them,  kind  of  "put-a-penny-in-the-slot-and-see- 
Grace-bat"  style,  that  is  most  aggravating  to  any 
one  possest  of  average  intelligence. 

The  importance  of  hitting  the  service  at  the  full 
extent  of  your  reach  will  be  apparent  on  a  refer- 
ence to  Fig.  4.  A  is  the  server,  and  when  he  hits 
the  ball  at  the  full  extent  of  his  reach  and  height, 
AB,  flying  in  a  straight  line  it  travels  from  B  to 
C,  and  he  has  all  that  strip  of  service-court  be- 
tween C  %and  E  available  to  him  for  his  fastest 
services,  with,  of  course,  a  bit  more  in  the  corners 
on  cross-court  services.  Supposing,  however,  he 


MAURICE  E.  MCLAUGHLIN — SERVING 

McLoughlin    is   licro   shown    starting    his   service.      Inset    is    the 
grip  for  the  forehand  cut  services. 

PLATE  4 


SERVICE  21 

is  ill-advised  enough  to  persist  in  his  half-arm 
deliveries,  to  pass  the  net  and  pitch  in  the  service- 
court,  his  ball  in  a  straight  line  will  travel  in  the 
dotted  line  from  D  to  E,  and  will  land  practically 
on  the  service-line  with  the  same  relative  margin 
for  cross-court  services  as  in  the  other  service. 
I  am  in  each  case  taking  practically  the  extreme 
to  point  the  importance  of  my  exhortation. 

As  in  cricket,  so  in  tennis,  good  length  is  of 
the  utmost  importance.  Make  your  faults  over 
the  service-line,  not  in  the  net.  The  first  service  of 
course  should  be  the  more  severe  of  the  two.  It 
is  here  that  you  must  try  your  best.  Your  second 
is  your  reserve,  and  you  generally  go  to  make  that 
sure.  So  does  every  one  else,  and  generally  it  is 
so  sure  that  it  might  almost  as  well  be  a  fault.  It 
should  be  the  endeavor  of  every  rising  young 
player  to  cultivate  a  respectable  second  service. 

Always  endeavor  to  place  your  service  so  that 
your  opponent  has  to  move  to  return  it,  and,  once 
you  have  discovered  his  weak  spot,  give  him  every 
opportunity  to  practise.  Do  not  unduly  exhaust 
yourself  by  trying  for  a  desperately  hard  service. 
Of  course,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have  up  your  sleeve, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  a  well-placed,  medium- 
paced,  good  length  service  is  often  much  better, 
especially  in  a  single,  as  it  gives  one  so  much  more 
time  to  get  into  an  attacking  position  at  the  net. 

In  returning  the  service,  as  in  nearly  all 
strokes  in  tennis,  you  should  stand  practically  at 


22  MODERN  TENNIS 

right  angles  to  the  net  if  the  ball  be  coming 
straight  down  court.  Speaking  generally,  your 
position  will  be  such  that  your  shoulders  are  par- 
allel with  the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  that  is  to 
say  that  you  nearly  always  stand  sidewise  on  as 
the  ball  approaches.  By  the  time  your  stroke  is 
finished,  your  chest  will  be  facing  about  where  the 
ball  has  gone.  In  the  plain-faced  overhead  serv- 
ice which  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  explain 
above,  you  must  be  careful  not  to  "chop  off"  your 
stroke.  After  hitting  the  ball,  let  the  racket  travel 
on  until  it  comes  down  naturally  and  nearly  hits 
your  left  knee.  This  is  technically  termed  ' 'fol- 
lowing through"  your  stroke. 

Whatever  you  do,  see  that  you  hit  the  ball 
directly  it  comes  within  reach  of  the  center  of  your 
racket ;  in  other  words,  always  serve  so  as  to  get 
every  inch  out  of  your  height  and  reach. 

I  have  spoken  about  the  important  rule  of  keep- 
ing your  eye  on  the  ball  up  to  the  very  moment  that 
you  strike  it,  also  of  the  importance  of  correct 
transference  of  weight.  To  these  may  be  added 
another  point  which  is  not  sufficiently  drilled  into 
beginners,  and  which,  truth  to  tell,  is  rarely  suf- 
ficiently attended  to,  through  not  observing  the 
first  and  most  important  rule  of  keeping  one's  eye 
on  the  ball,  and  that  is,  "Always  hit  the  ball  with 
the  center  of  the  gut  of  the  racket."  This  is  the 
business  portion.  Of  course,  with  many  of  the 
cut-strokes  this  can  not  be  done  with  the  same 


SERVICE  23 

accuracy  as  when  the  shot  is  played  with  a  plain- 
face  racket  meeting  the  ball  in  a  direct  line  of 
flight,  but  even  in  these  cut-strokes  the  endeavor 
always  should  be  to  see  that  the  ball  hits  as  near 
to  the  center  of  the  racket  as  possible. 

I  have  not  referred  to  the  underhand  service 
here,  because  a  plain  underhand  service  is  quite 
out  of  date.  I  shall  in  another  place  refer  to  a 
useful  variety  of  the  underhand  service. 

I  think  the  best  position  from  which  to  deliver 
your  service,  provided  that  you  intend,  as  is  usual, 
to  follow  it  up,  is  about  four  or  five  feet  from 
the  center  of  the  base-line.  If  you  are  playing 
from  the  base-line,  which  I  hope  you  are  not,  you 
may  vary  it  as  it  suits  you,  but  don't  wander  far 
from  the  center.  I  am  referring  now  to  singles. 
I  shall  deal  with  the  position  of  the  server  in 
doubles  later  on. 

When  awaiting  the  service,  one  should  be  on 
one's  toes.  It  is  quite  a  mistake  to  stand  flat- 
footed  and,  as  so  many  do,  with  stiff  legs  when 
one  is  expecting  a  fast  service. 

It  is  impossible  to  start  quickly  if  the  knee- 
joints  are  not  bent  and  the  heels  are  not  off  the 
ground.  These  actions  must  take  place  before  one 
can  start.  Then  have  it  done  before  the  ball 
leaves  your  opponent's  racket.  Be  on  your  toes, 
with  your  weight  thrown  forward,  so  that  you  are 
within  a  few  pounds  of  overbalancing  toward  the 
net. 


24  MODERN  TENNIS 

The  weight  is  borne  across  the  feet  from  the 
ball  of  the  big  toes  and  forward  of  that  line — 
roughly  speaking,  on  the  front  third  of  the  feet. 
The  moment  the  server  sets,  one's  body  should  go 
down  and  forward  in  such  an  attitude  that  one 
is  ready  to  spring  on  the  instant.  In  dealing  with 
the  modern  service  one  has  not  time  to  adjust  one's 
position  after  the  ball  is  delivered. 

This  is  a  most  important  point,  and  one  that  is 
lamentably  neglected  by  most  men,  and  by  nearly 
all  women.  McLoughlin  is  a  good  example  as  to 
how  one  should  await  the  service.  He  is  loose 
all  over  and  is  ready  to  spring  for  the  ball  before 
it  has  left  his  opponent 's  racket.  The  consequence 
is  that  he  gets  aced,  comparatively  speaking,  very 
seldom. 

In  awaiting  the  service  one  naturally  faces  one's 
opponent  with  the  racket  held  in  both  hands. 
Many  players  hold  it  as  for  playing  a  backhand 
stroke  and  support  it  at  the  neck  with  the  left  hand. 
There  is  no  settled  rule  for  this,  but  it  is  well  to 
hold  it  so  as  to  be  ready  to  cover  one's  outstand- 
ing weakness,  if  one  has  any,  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible. The  racket  should  always  be  held  across 
the  body,  resting  lightly  in  both  hands,  and  sup- 
ported as  in  receiving  the  service. 

Do  not,  however,  descend  to  hopping  about  as 
some  players  do.  It  is  most  ugly,  unnecessary, 
and  useless,  as  one  may  get  caught  in  the  middle 
of  a  jump. 


MAURICE  E.  McLouGHLix — SERVING 

Notice  the  bend  of  the  arm  with  the  elbow  high  in  the  air.  the 
grip  of  the  racket,  and  the  manner  iu  which  the  body  is  coining 
onto  the  ball. 

PLATE  5 


THE    FOREHAND    STROKE 

THIS  is  the  staple  of  the  game  of  most  players, 
and  so  should  from  the  first  be  studied  most  care- 
fully. Having  thoroughly  assimilated  the  four 
cardinal  rules  laid  down  in  the  chapter  on  serv- 
ice, and  which  will  bear  repeating,  namely : 

1.  Keep  your  eye  on  that  portion  of  the  ball 
which  you  intend  to  hit ; 

2.  Hit  the  ball  with  the  center  of  your  racket; 

3.  Be  transferring  your  weight  from  your  right 
leg  to  your  left  as  you  hit  the  ball ; 

4.  " Follow  through"  your  stroke; 

the  beginner  must  next  lay  himself  out  to  acquire 
the  art  of  getting  the  ball  back  over  the  net  with 
certainty. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  a  famous  player  was 
once  asked  by  an  old  lady  what  was  the  most  im- 
portant thing  in  tennis.  His  answer  was,  "To 
get  the  ball  over  the  net,  madam";  and  so  it  is. 
If  I  were  asked  the  next,  I  should  say,  "To  pre- 
vent your  opponent  getting  it  back";  and  this 
will  be  most  readily  achieved  by  acquiring  a  good 
length,  which  is  of  the  first  importance ;  by  that  I 
mean,  learning  so  to  regulate  your  strength  as  to 
pitch  your  ball  near  the  base-line. 

For  the  forehand  stroke,  you  should  stand  with 
your  left  side  toward  the  net,  your  left  foot  in 

25 


26  MODERN  TENNIS 

front  and  pointing  almost  straight  at  the  net  (pre- 
suming the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball  to  be  parallel 
with  the  side-lines).  Your  feet  will  be  about 
eighteen  inches  apart,  and  your  right  foot,  upon 
which  the  weight  of  your  body  will  rest  prepara- 
tory to  the  stroke,  turned  almost  at  a  right  angle 
to  the  left  foot.  For  position  of  feet,  see  Fig.  5. 

Many  of  our  best  players  play  their  forehand 
shot  when  the  ball  is  at  the  top  of  its  bound  with 
a  sweeping  horizontal  stroke,  but  the  beginner 
will  find  it  easier  to  let  the  ball  fall  until  it  is  with- 
in nine  or  ten  inches  of  the  ground  before  he  hits 
it.  He  then  hits  it  with  his  racket,  which  should 
be  swung  from  away  behind,  and  on  a  level  at 
least  with  his  right  shoulder,  at  such  an  angle  as 
to  carry  it  over  the  net,  and  with  such  force  as  to 
allow  it  to  drop  into  the  court  beyond,  transferring 
his  weight  from  right  to  left  leg  so  that  he  executes 
the  stroke  at  the  time  he  is,  as  nearly  as  can  be, 
half  through  such  act  of  transferring  his  weight. 
This  stroke  is  a  pure  underhand  shot,  and  the 
racket,  in  making  it  and  following  on,  makes  three 
parts  of  a  circle  in  the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball. 

This  is  the  foundation  stroke  in  tennis.  It 
should  be  learned  both  forehand  and  backhand. 
Ignorance  of  this  foundation  stroke  accounts  for 
the  strange  inability  of  many  good  players  to  deal 
properly  with  a  low  ball.  This  stroke,  either  with 
the  plain  face  of  the  racket  or  with  a  slight  cut, 
is  the  natural  answer  to  the  low  ball.  Many,  in- 


THE   FOREHAND   STROKE  27 

deed  most,  players  step  onto  their  stroke,  taking 
a  short  step  toward  the  ball  with  the  left  foot 
for  the  forehand  stroke,  and  with  the  right  foot 
for  the  backhand  stroke.  Some,  when  in  position 
for  their  stroke,  but  with  the  weight  on  the  front 
leg,  will  throw  their  weight  onto  the  rear  leg  as 
the  racket  rises  in  the  air,  and  then,  all  with  an 
easy,  natural  swing,  return  it  to  the  leg  which  is  in 
front  as  they  play  the  stroke. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  this  most  impor- 
tant matter  of  transferring  the  weight,  altho  I 
say  you  strike  the  ball  almost  half-way  through 
the  swing,  as  a  matter  of  fact  you  are  really  past 
the  balance,  the  scales  have  turned,  and  your 
weight  is  doing  the  work. 

In  making  both  the  forehand  and  backhand 
strokes,  the  weight  is  placed  upon  the  leg  further 
from  the  ball  preparatory  to  the  act  of  striking. 
In  nearly  every  illustration  which  has  hitherto 
been  given  of  these  important  positions  you  will 
see  a  man  standing  slack  and  flat-footed.  Now 
this  is  a  great  mistake,  for,  altho  the  weight  is 
thrown  almost  entirely  on  the  rearmost  foot,  if 
you  are  in  a  correct  position  you  will  find  that  it 
is  concentrated  at  the  ball  of  the  big  toe  and  across 
in  a  line  therewith.  This  is  the  starting-point, 
the  point  on  which  your  weight  swings,  or  is 
poised,  preparatory  to  being  shifted  into  a  similar 
position  on  the  other  leg,  and  if  you  notice  care- 
fully you  will  find  that  your  rear  heel  is,  or  should 


28 


MODERN  TENNIS 


LEFT 


RIGHT 


NET 


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THE   FOREHAND    STEOKE  29 

be,  scarcely  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  if  it 
is,  then  it  should  certainly  be  bearing  little,  if  any, 
of  your  weight,  for  that  should  be  thrown  onto 
the  ball  of  the  toe,  and  if  one  may  judge  by  the 
feeling,  the  muscles  of  the  calf,  as  you  stand,  with 
knee  slightly  bent,  and  every  muscle  ready  in  the 
best  position  to  go  directly  the  brain  telegraphs 
the  word  of  command.  Similarly,  do  not  have  the 
front  foot  flat  on  the  ground.  Use  the  ball  of  the 
big  toe  to  keep  in  touch  with  mother  earth  until 
your  weight  comes  forward,  and  the  rearmost  foot 
takes  up  that  function. 

The  only  time  when  it  is  permissible,  and  in 
some  cases  practically  unavoidable,  that  you 
should  play  with  a  flat  foot  is  when  you  are  taking 
low  volleys. 

After  you  have  acquired  a  reasonable  degree  of 
certainty  in  returning  the  ball,  your  next  endeavor 
should  be  to  make  it  pitch  as  near  to  the  base-line 
as  you  can  every  time  without  sending  it  over. 

Do  not  get  it  into  your  head  that  the  ball  must 
just  skim  over  the  net.  You  can  get  a  good  length, 
fair-paced  drive  quite  two  feet  above  the  net. 

One  of  the  greatest  faults  of  nearly  all  beginners 
is  getting  too  close  to  the  ball  both  in  its  line  of 
flight  and  laterally.  A  beginner  should  stand  well 
away  from  the  ball  both  sidewise  and  lengthwise. 
Let  it  have  its  bound  and  then  deal  with  it.  It  is 
fatal  to  be  cramped  in  your  shot,  and  it  is  much 
easier  to  play  your  stroke  advancing  than  retiring. 


30  MODERN  TENNIS 

The  first  is  natural,  and  you  have  all  chances  in 
your  favor,  whereas,  if  you  have  to  play  a  shot 
while  retreating,  the  chances  are  much  against 
your  making  an  effective  stroke.  Remember,  you 
always  want  the  assistance  of  your  body,  some- 
times certainly  in  a  very  slight  degree,  but  even 
that  slight  amount  can  not  be  so  effectively  ob- 
tained when  you  are  "in  retreat,"  as  it  can,  for 
instance,  even  when  you  are  "poised"  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

The  body  should  be  nearly  parallel  with,  or 
facing,  the  line  of  flight  of  the  approaching  ball, 
and  not,  as  laid  down  by  some  writers,  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  ball  will  come. 

The  racket  must  be  held  firmly  and  naturally. 
In  this  stroke  there  is  practically  no  wrist-work. 
The  left  arm  should  not  hang  loosely,  as  is  some- 
times advised.  It  should  have  "muscular  inten- 
tion" and  should  balance  the  right,  swinging 
forward  and  round  in  front  of  the  body  as  the 
racket  is  swung  behind  the  right  shoulder,  and 
coming  back  as  the  stroke  is  made  and  the  right 
arm  thrown  forward.  Indeed,  at  the  finish  of  the 
stroke,  it  will  be  found  that  many  players  involun- 
tarily extend  the  left  arm  behind  them,  so  as  to 
be  practically  in  a  line  with  the  right  at  the  finish 
of  the  stroke. 

Above  everything,  acquire  certainty  before  you 
begin  to  think  of  pace.  I  know  young  fellows  who 
have  been  playing  for  years,  who  have  all  the 


MAURICE  E.  MCLOUGHLIN  —  SERVING 

McLoughlin  Is  licrc  almost  falling  onto  the  ball. 
angle  of  the  racket-face  and  the  manner  In  which 
is  keeping  his  right  foot  behind  the  line. 


Notice  the 
McLoughlin 


PLATE  6 


THE   FOREHAND   STROKE  31 

physical  advantages  necessary  to  make  champions, 
who  serve  half-arm  pats  without  any  body-weight, 
and  wildly  slash  at  all  and  sundry  balls,  counting 
the  afternoon  well  spent  if  a  few  of  these  meteoric 
eccentricities  happen  to  bite  the  chalk  by  accident ; 
but  this  is  not  tennis.  Accuracy  in  placing  and 
certainty  in  returning  first:  then,  when  the  time 
comes,  and  the  necessity,  severity. 


THE  BACKHAND   STROKE 

IT  is  amazing  how  many  players  make  this  shot 
out  of  position.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  feet  be  in  proper  position  for  the  stroke. 
This  position  is  the  reverse  of  that  laid  down  for 
the  forehand  stroke.  The  right  foot  must  be  ad- 
vanced and  the  toe  pointing  almost,  but  not  quite, 
parallel  to  the  line  of  flight  of  the  approaching 
ball.  The  left  is  in  the  rear  about  18  inches, 
nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  right  (see  Fig.  6), 
and  bearing  your  weight.  As  in  the  forehand 
stroke,  so  in  this,  your  body  should  be  sidewise 
to  the  net,  as  most  writers  put  it,  but,  of  course, 
as  the  ball  comes  from  different  directions  this  is 
not  always  right.  Your  body  should  be  facing, 
and  parallel  with,  the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball. 
You  must  understand  this  clearly,  as  it  is  of  im- 
portance. You  are  not  to  face  in  the  direction 
from  which  the  ball  is  coming.  You  must  stand 
so  that,  looking  right  ahead  of  you,  the  ball  will 
pass  the  line  of  your  vision  at  a  right  angle;  in 
other  words,  you  must  be  "  sidewise  on"  to  the 
ball. 

One  of  England's  ex-champion  players  consis- 
tently plays  his  backhand  stroke  off  his  left  foot. 
The  consequence  is  he  can  not  make  a  clean  pass- 
ing shot  down  the  side-line  on  that  side,  as  he 

32 


THE   BACKHAND    STROKE 


33 


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34  MODERN  TENNIS 

gets  such  a  large  amount  of  cut  on  the  ball.  I 
have  seen  his  return  go  a  foot  inside  the  court  and 
curl  a  foot  outside.  This  will  show  the  impor- 
tance of  the  position  of  the  feet.  That  man  is 
robbing  himself  of  at  least  two  feet  of  room  at 
the  net. 

All  the  general  rules  laid  down  concerning  the 
forehand  stroke  apply  with  equal  force  to  the 
backhand ;  indeed,  it  is  wonderful  how  similar  are 
the  mechanical  principles  involved  in  nearly  all 
ball  games  and  the  strokes  thereof. 

The  stroke  is  played  by  swinging  the  racket  well 
back  until  it  is  within  a  few  inches  of  the  head, 
and  then  stepping  onto  the  ball  and  striking  it 
with  an  even  swing  about  a  foot  before  it  gets 
quite  close  to  the  body.  Many  players  forget 
the  different  positions  of  the  face  of  the  racket 
when  held  naturally  and  with  the  face  at  right 
angles  to  the  floor,  by,  first,  the  forehand  grip, 
and,  secondly,  the  backhand  grip.  Take  these 
grips,  and  examine  the  angles  for  yourself,  and 
you  will  then  understand  the  necessity  for  hitting 
your  backhand  shot  before  it  gets  "in"  to  you. 

I  have  said,  play  the  ball  sidewise  with  your 
right  foot  foremost.  I  can  not  impress  this  too 
strongly  on  the  beginner.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
many  fine  strokes  are  played  with  remarkable 
accuracy  by  some  players,  when  they  are  playing 
at  a  still  greater  angle,  almost  with  their  backs  to 
the  net. 


THE   BACKHAND    STROKE  35 

Before  I  temporarily  leave  the  consideration  of 
the  two  most  important  ground-strokes,  I  shall 
risk  repetition  and  remind  you  of  the  tennis- 
player's  alphabet. 

1.  Keep  your  eye  on  the  ball,  and  not  only  on 
the  ball,  but  on  that  portion* of  it  which  you  intend 
to  hit.*    You  do  not  always  hit  it  in  the  same 
place,  as  will  hereafter  appear. 

2.  Hit  the  ball  with  the  center  of  your  racket. 

3.  At  the  moment  of  hitting  the  ball,  be  trans- 
ferring your  weight  from  your  left  (in  this  case) 
leg  to  your  right. 

4.  Hold  your  racket  firmly  when  you  are  making 
your  stroke.    Neglect  of  this  causes  the  loss  of 
many  strokes. 

5.  Follow  through  your  stroke. 

I  want  you  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the 
words  "be  transferring."  In  driving  at  golf,  as 
already  mentioned,  a  great  deal  depends  upon  the 
correct  transference  of  the  weight  of  the  body  at 
the  critical  moment,  and  so  it  does  in  tennis.  You 
really  hit  the  ball  slightly  more  than  half-way 
through  the  act  of  transferring  your  weight.  If 
this  point  is  thoroughly  mastered,  and  you  get 
your  body  to  do  its  fair  share  of  the  work,  you 
will  be  astonished  to  find  what  pace  you  can  get 
out  of  a  stroke  by  correctly  "timing"  the  body 
onto  the  ball. 


*  This,  of  course,  is  a  counsel  of  perfection,  but  it  is  what 
must  be  aimed  at. 


THE  HALF- VOLLEY 

I  AM  always  amused  at  the  half-contemptuous 
short  shrift  this  beautiful  and  useful  stroke  re- 
ceives. I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  somewhat 
on  the  same  lines  as  the  public  opinion  which 
caused  "volleying"  when  first  introduced  to  be 
considered  "bad  form,"  and  the  enterprising 
player  who  bounded  to  the  net  and  killed  his  oppo- 
nent's soft  returns,  in  very  truth  a  "bounder" 
(in  English  slang  meaning  a  very  objectionable 
person) — because  the  other  fellows  couldn't  do  it. 

To  a  great  extent  this  is  so  with  the  half -volley. 
It  really  is  not  a  very  difficult  stroke,  but  it  has 
never  yet  been  forcibly  borne  in  upon  tennis- 
players  why  they  miss  this  particular  shot  so  fre- 
quently. This  is  the  stroke  of  all  strokes  which 
is  played  by  most  players  nearly  blindfolded. 
Here  again  let  me  shout  in  stentorian  tones, 
* '  Keep  your  eye  on  the  ball. "  Do  we  miss  a  drop- 
kick?  Have  we  any  objection  to  a  half -volley  at 
cricket?  No,  because  we  look  at  these,  and 
we  don't  look  at  the  half -volleys  on  the  tennis- 
court.  There  is  no  stroke  which  allows  so  many 
balls  to  pass  "clean  through  the  racket."  This, 
accompanied  by  the  fact  that  the  stroke  is  nearly 
always  used  merely  as  a  defensive  shot,  has,  I 
think,  invested  it  with  terrors  it  should  not  possess. 
A  good  player  should  be  able  and  willing  to  take 

36 


MAURICE  E.  MCLOUGHLIN — SERVING 

McLoughlin  has  now  struck  tlie  ball,  yet  his  right  foot  has  not 
crossed  the  Hue.  It  comes  In  now  very  fast  as  he  runs  up  to  the 
net.  This  is  a  perfectly  fair  service. 

PLATE  7 


THE   HALF-VOLLEY  37 

this  stroke  on  as  an  offensive  shot,  if  he  sees  that 
it  will  give  him  a  better  opening  than  waiting  to 
play  it  later.  If  you  doubt  my  contention,  get  a 
friend  and  practise  the  stroke,  and  you  will  be 
astonished  what  you  can  do  with  it  if  you  observe 
the  cardinal  rule  of  the  game,  which  applies  with 
greater  force  to  this  stroke,  because  it  is  so  flag- 
rantly neglected  in  connection  with  it. 

The  stroke  is  frequently  played  without  any. 
follow  through  at  all,  and  consists  of  meeting  the 
ball  with  the  face  of  the  racket  almost  immediately 
it  has  left  the  ground  and  before  it  has  had  time 
to  travel  more  than  a  matter  of  inches.  It  is  a 
most  useful  shot.  It  can  be,  and  indeed  has  to  be, 
played  in  quite  a  variety  of  positions.  It  is 
amazing  what  balls  a  good  half-volleyer  can  re- 
turn. I  have  seen  a  ball  pass  a  player  on  his  back- 
hand, apparently  a  hopeless  case  for  him,  when, 
with  a  swift  turn,  his  back  to  the  net,  and  a  wristy 
half-volley,  he  has  turned  what  looked  like  a  cer- 
tain loss  to  him  into  a  good  attacking  position. 

Few  players  realize  the  mechanical  principles 
involved  in  half-volleying.  You  will  see  most  of 
them  meet  the  ball  with  the  face  of  the  racket  in- 
clining too  much  backward  and  away  from  the 
net.  They  apparently  forget  that  the  ball  is  al- 
ready striving  hard,  with  the  initial  force  of  its 
bound,  to  rise,  and  that  the  angle  of  the  face  of 
the  racket  must  be  such  as  to  counteract  this  tenr 
dency.  A  glance  at  Fig.  7  will  explain  my  remarks 


38 


MODERN  TENNIS 


quite  clearly.  This,  of  course,  refers  to  all  balls 
of  and  above  medium  pace.  If  the  ball  is  so  slow 
that  it  requires  lifting,  it  may  be  better,  if  you  can 
not  get  to  it  in  time  to  volley,  to  let  it  bound. 

It  is  distinctly  a  stroke  which  every  player 
should  have  at  his  command,  and  much  more  per- 

f  ectly  developed  than  it  is 

Ov  Ov       at  present. 


COURT 
Vertical,  rigidly  held  racket  and  natural  rebound 


COURT 

Backet  forwardly  Inclined  to  correct  upward  tendency.    Dotted 
line  shows  corrected  rebound. 

FIGURE  7 

N.B. — In  most  of  the  figures  the  head  of  the  racket  only  has 
been  shown,  because  to  produce  the  handle  of  racket  or  the  body 
of  the  player  would  complicate  the  figure ;  and  in  no  case  are 
balls,  rackets,  or  anything  else,  drawn  to  scale. 


THE  VOLLEY 

THE  volley  is  a  stroke  played  before  the  ball  has 
struck  the  ground.  It  is  indispensable,  is  easily 
acquired  if  one  has  a  fairly  good  eye,  and  should 
be  assiduously  practised,  for  half  the  charm  of 
tennis  lies  in  good  volleying.  When  stand- 
ing in  position  for  a  volley  at  the  net,  the  feet  are 
kept  about  eighteen  inches  apart,  the  toes  turned 
outward,  the  knees  slightly  bent,  and  the  head 
and  shoulders  thrown  forward  so  that  the  weight 
of  the  body  is  all  forward.  You  are  practically 
almost  on  the  balance,  and  you  hold  your  racket 
horizontally  across  your  body,  supported  at  the 
splice  by  your  left  hand. 

For  all  volleys,  the  same  general  principles  as 
are  laid  down  for  striking  the  ball  in  service,  which, 
of  course,  is  a  volley,  apply,  but  there  are  many 
volleys  which  come  to  you  at  the  net,  which  are  so 
fast  that  they  are  played  almost  by  the  wrist  or 
arm,  with  what  little  body  weight  you  are  enabled 
to  put  into  them  by  mere  "loin  rotation,"  which 
means  the  half  swing  of  the  body  on  the  hips,  or 
by  falling  over  your  balance  onto  the  ball,  to  coin 
an  expression,  for  the  shot  will  be  played  almost 
before  you  have  started  your  short  step  onto  the 
ball. 

39 


40  MODERN  TENNIS 

For  all  low  volleying,  get  your  eye  as  much  in  a 
line  with  the  ball  as  you  can;  in  other  words, 
crouch  to  them,  so  low  that  you  can  take  nearly 
everything  with  the  head  of  the  racket  above  the 
wrist.  This  latter  point  is  strongly  and  ably 
shown  and  dealt  with  in  Messrs.  Dohertys'  inter- 
esting treatise  on  the  game,  and  is  of  great  im- 
portance, particularly  in  low  volleys  at  the  net, 
and,  as  they  point  out — but  this  I  consider  a  much 
more  doubtful  point — in  low  volleys  at  and  about 
the  service  line.  Certainly,  however,  if  execution 
counts  for  anything,  any  one  who  has  seen  the 
very  fine  low  volleying  of  the  brothers  will  deem 
the  matter  worthy  of  consideration.  At  the  same 
time,  there  is  no  mechanical  reason  why  these 
volleys  can  not  be  played  just  as  well  with  the 
underhand  stroke.  I  am  inclined  to  consider  that 
it  is  only  a  matter  of  practise,  and  that  they  would 
prove  just  as  effective  as  when  played  in  the 
manner  suggested  by  Messrs.  Doherty,  who,  I  am 
rather  disappointed  to  note,  give  no  reason  what- 
ever in  favor  of  the  practise.  My  idea  of  always 
as  much  as  possible  keeping  the  eye  in  a  line  with 
the  flight  of  the  ball  when  taking  low  volleys  hardly 
sufficiently  applies  here — altho  in  a  modified 
degree  it  does — and,  in  the  absence  of  any  explana- 
tion, I  must  say  that  I  fail  to  see  any  reason  why, 
with  practise,  a  good  low  volley  can  not  be  de- 
veloped with  the  head  of  the  racket  below  the 
wrist.  It  is  certainly  a  far  more  natural  shot, 


MAURICE  E.  MCLOUGHLIX — SERVING 

This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  picture  of  the  finish  of 
McLoughlin's  service  that  has  ever  been  taken.  Note  carefully 
where  the  racket  finishes,  and  the  turn  of  the  wrist. 

PLATE  8 


THE   VOLLEY  41 

and  can  with  practise  be  very  accurately  treated. 

I  have  very  strong  opinions  on  the  volleying 
question.  Some  people  say  they  are  extreme,  but 
I  shall  give  them  to  you,  for  they  are  valuable. 

Axiom  I.  Never  let  the  ball  hit  the  ground  when 
you  can  play  it  with  a  reasonable  chance  of  a  good 
stroke  on  the  volley. 

Axiom  II.  Play  every  volley  possible  overhead, 
or  at  least  with  the  head  of  the  racket  above  the 
wrist,  always,  however,  observing  the  rule  of  keep- 
ing the  forearm  in  line  with  the  handle  of  the 
racket.  With  dropping  balls  and  low  volleys 
generally,  you  have  my  ideas  and  Messrs.  Doher- 
tys'.  Try  them  both  and  take  that  which  suits 
you. 

[I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  can  not  now  conscien- 
tiously advise  any  one  even  to  experiment  with 
the  advice  of  Messrs.  Doherty  to  keep  the  head  of 
the  racket  above  the  wrist  for  low-volleying. 
This  hold  has  been  proved  wanting.] 

The  immense  importance  of  volleying  is  that  you 
save  much  time  and  so  are  more  likely  to  get  your 
opponent  out  of  position,  or  secure  an  opening  to 
finish  the  rest  at  the  net  by  a  good  volley. 

Most  players  volley  much  better  when  close  up 
to  the  net  than  from  the  back  court.  It  is,  I  think, 
largely  a  matter  of  moral  courage.  Consider  the 
splendidly  placed  volleys  you  serve  to  your  oppo- 
nent whenever  it  is  your  "deal."  Why  should 
you  not  volley  better  from  the  back  court  than 


42  MODERN  TENNIS 

you  do,  for  you  are  nearer  the  net,  and  have  about 
four  times  the  space  at  least — for  the  net  shuts  up 
most  of  the  service-court — that  you  have  when 
serving  from  the  base-line! 

I  know  that  I  shall  be  told  that  in  the  service  you 
have  the  chance  of  putting  up  your  own  ball  and  so 
on,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  service  is 
the  volley — a  straight-dropping  ball — that  re- 
quires most  accurate  timing,  and  that  there  is  no 
other  volley  played  which  must  be  directed  into 
so  circumscribed  a  portion  of  the  court — a  mere 
strip  for  fast  services. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  ordinary  volleys  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  court  is  open  to  one  and — here  is 
the  advantage — generally  the  ball  is  approaching 
the  player,  altho  it  may  be  dropping  fast,  and  is 
therefore  easier  to  time.  I  am  certain  that 
most  of  the  bad  volleying  behind  the  service-line 
is  lack  of  moral  courage  and  of  confidence  in  the 
law  of  gravitation.  Players  always,  or  nearly  so, 
want  to  assist  too  much  the  already  acquired  down- 
ward impetus  of  the  ball,  and  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  that  even  after  the  impact  of  their  racket  has 
temporarily  checked  the  ball's  downward  flight, 
this  impetus  continues  to  assert  itself. 

I  should  recommend  young  players  to  try  this 
plan.  Get  a  friend  to  throw  up  lobs.  Stand  in 
the  center  of  the  three-quarter  court  and  volley 
them  back  to  the  base-line.  Note  carefully  how  high 
they  pass  above  the  net,  and  thus  you  will  be  able 


THE   VOLLEY  43 

to  eliminate  from  your  mind  to  a  great  extent  the 
bugbear  of  the  net,  when  you  are  making  your 
stroke.  If  I  were  starting  a  player  who  was 
really  keen  on  the  game,  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
would  not  make  him  learn  his  smashing  without 
having  any  net  on  the  court,  or  possibly  over  a  tape 
four  feet  six  inches  high.  I  should  know  from 
where  the  ball  pitched  whether  it  was  good  or  not, 
and  he  would  learn  to  think  of  his  angle,  and  not, 
as  we  all  do,  of  the  net,  and  the  man  at  it,  and  it 
stands  to  reason  that  this  thought  influences  our 
strokes ,  most  materially.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
many  of  us  volley  at — yes  at — the  net,  or  just  to 
clear  it.  Is  it  any  wonder  we  find  it? 

You  must  remember  also  that  good  length  is  as 
important  in  a  volley  which  you  can  not  kill  by 
pace  or  placing  as  it  is  in  any  other  stroke.  Above 
everything,  do  not  get  into  the  habit  of  patting 
your  volleys.  Always  get  a  bit  of  pace  on  them 
if  you  can,  and  if  you  get  a  suitable  chance,  unless 
you  can  be  certain  to  win  by  placing,  "put  it  out 
of  sight"  at  once. 

Most  writers  will  tell  you  that  for  volleying  at 
the  net  when  you  see  a  forehand  volley  "looming 
up, ' '  you  are  to  draw  your  right  leg  back  and  put 
your  weight  on  it,  turning  your  body  slightly  side- 
ways, and  at  the  moment  of  striking  make  a  slight 
step  forward  with  the  left  foot,  thus  carrying  out 
the  general  theory  of  all  strokes.  The  theory  is 
perfectly  good  when  you  have  time  for  it,  which 
you  very  often  have  not. 


44  MODERN  TENNIS 

Yon  must  hold  your  racket  firmly  for  the  volley 
and  meet  the  ball  smartly  with  it.  Do  not  leave 
the  ball  to  attack  the  racket.  The  racket  must 
commit  the  assault,  otherwise  there  will  be  trouble. 
In  only  about  one  case  may  you  allow  the  ball  to 
do  the  work,  and  that  is  a  shot  seldom  seen  now. 
When  standing  right  at  the  net,  you  may  simply 
hold  your  racket  stiffly  in  front  of  the  ball,  and  by 
drawing  it  smartly  back  at  the  moment  of  the 
impact  drop  the  ball  almost  dead  over  the  net,  but 
this  stroke  can  be  played  practically  as  well,  and 
possibly  with  more  certainty  by  a  cut  volley,  which 
I  shall  deal  with  later  on. 


THE  LOB- VOLLEY 

THE  lob-volley  is  one  of  the  rarest  strokes  one 
sees  played,  but  its  usefulness  can  not  be  ques- 
tioned. It  consists  of  meeting  the  ball  with  an 
underhand  stroke  before  it  has  touched  the  ground 
and  tossing  it  into  the  air  in  the  endeavor  to  get 
over  your  opponent's  head.  You  must  endeavor 
particularly  in  this  shot  to  strike  the  ball  truly  in 
the  center  of  the  racket,  which  must  be  gripped 
firmly ;  and  do  not  be  afraid  to  toss  it  well  up.  If 
you  try  to  play  a  low  lob-volley,  you  run  great  risk 
of  giving  your  opponent  an  easy  kill.  It  lends  it- 
self nicely  to  a  backhand  shot  with  plenty  of  cut. 
In  any  case,  you  must  be  careful  in  making  this 
shot  to  let  the  ball  bound,  if  I  may  so  express  it, 
on  the  racket;  in  other  words,  the  face  of  the 
racket  must  be  very  nearly  horizontal,  otherwise 
you  will  put  the  return  into  your  opponent's 
hands.  This  volley,  like  all  others,  must  be 
played ;  you  must  not  leave  the  racket  to  do  it. 


45 


THE  FOREHAND  OVERHEAD  VOLLEY 

NEAKLY  all  writers  deal  with  this  under  the  name 
of  '  *  The  Smash, ' '  but  as  it  is  not  always  a  smash, 
but  quite  as  often  merely  an  ordinary  overhead 
volley,  I  prefer  to  treat  of  it  under  the  above  head- 
ing. 

This  volley  is  practically  similar  to  the  service 
except  that  you  are  not  fixt  for  the  stroke  before 
it  goes  up,  and  do  not  provide  the  material  for 
your  shot.  Its  general  principles  are  identical, 
with  the  exception  that  you  may,  and  often  do, 
step  onto  your  stroke,  and  when  you  make  it 
severe  enough  it  is  a  " smash."  When  practising 
smashing,  it  will  be  of  the  utmost  benefit  to  the 
aspirant  for  tennis  honors  to  find  out,  from  the 
different  points  of  the  court,  the  varying  heights 
at  which  his  ball  can  pass  over  the  net  and  yet 
land  in  the  court.  If  you  are  earnest  about  your 
game,  I  would  even  suggest  to  you  to  strain  a  tape 
across  at  the  point  which  cuts  the  line  of  flight 
of  your  ball  at  the  net  when  smashed  from  the 
middle  of  the  back  court  to  the  base-line.  Then 
practise  at  this.  It  will  not  be  waste  time. 

In  running  back  to  bring  off  an  overhead  volley, 
the  player  should  not  merely  try  to  reach  the  ball. 
It  should  be  his  ami  to  overrun  it  so  as  to  be  able 

46 


FOEEHAND   OVERHEAD   VOLLEY     47 

to  pull  himself  together,  at  least  to  poise  himself, 
and  come  at  the  ball  on  the  general  principles  laid 
down  for  service.  He  should,  while  waiting,  have 
his  weight  well  back  on  his  right  leg,  his  right 
shoulder  low,  and  then  at  the  critical  moment  put 
his  body  into  his  stroke. 

Let  him,  in  this  stroke,  also  get  rid  of  the  idea 
of  hitting  the  ball  down.  If  he  finds  this  advice 
makes  him  drive  it  over  the  base-line,  which  he 
won't,  he  can  modify  his  performance. 

The  backhand  overhead  volley  is  a  stroke  you 
only  take  on  when  you  are  forced  to,  and  does  not 
call  for  much  comment.  Reverse  the  instructions 
for  the  forehand  shot,  and  practise  will  do  the  rest. 

Some  important  points  in  smashing  which 
should  be  remembered  are : — 

1.  Position  of  feet  with  weight  on  the  toes  in 
each  foot  as  it  is  being  transferred. 

2.  Position  of  right  leg,  bent  at  knee,  ready  to 
propel  body  forward. 

3.  Weight  of  'body  mainly  on  right  leg. 

4.  Head  thrown  back. 

5.  Right  shoulder  well  drooped. 

6.  Balance  by  extended  left  arm  with  lightly 
clenched  hand. 

7.  Make  the  stroke  an  aggressive  shot. 

The  last  is  certainly  not  the  least  here,  and 
should  in  smashing  be  the  dominant  idea.  Deter- 
mination and  confidence  are  essentials  to  good 
smashing,  and  good  smashing  is  an  essential  to  a 


48  MODERN  TENNIS 

really  good  game,  and  once  you  know  how  to  do 
it,  a  little  practise  makes  it  so  easy  and  pleasant— 
for  you.  All  the  above  are  strong  points  in  smash- 
ing, and  if  you  put  them  into  practise  you  will 
smash  quite  well. 


NORMAN  E.  BROOKES — SERVING 

This  shows  Brookes  in  a  characteristic  position  as  he  comes  up 
to  start  his  service.  Notice  his  grip  carefully.  lie  will  uot  get 
to  the  side  of  his  racket,  and  so  sacrifice  power  and  accuracy. 

PLATE  9 


THE   LOB 

THIS  stroke  as  the  staple  of  one's  game  is  con- 
temptible. In  its  place  it  is  a  fine  scientific  shot, 
requiring  far  more  skill,  nerve,  and  delicacy  of 
touch  to  play  well  than  many  a  more  showy  stroke. 

It  is  a  defensive  shot,  generally  played  to  give 
one  time  or  position,  or  both,  and  the  beauty  of  a 
good  lob  is  that  the  best  man  living  must  chase  it 
and  thus  be  dislodged  from  the  net,  or  lose  the 
ace. 

The  Americans  have  a  liking  for  high  lobs. 
Theoretically,  of  course,  every  inch  more  than 
sufficient  to  clear  your  opponent's  racket  is  waste 
energy,  and  gives  more  time  for  your  opponent  to 
get  back  to  it  and  reply,  but  I  would  not  advise 
cutting  it  too  fine.  It  is  hard  to  tell  how  high  a 
man  can  jump,  also  you  must  allow  a  little  margin 
for  your  possible  want  of  accuracy.  So  long  as 
you  are  tossing  accurately  enough  to  pass  your 
opponent  there  can  be  little  advantage  in  going  in 
for  high  lobs,  which  some  writers  put  into  a  special 
class.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  exactly  the 
same  gentlemen  as  those  low  fellows  who  just 
skim  your  rackets.  The  latter  are  of  course  faster, 
and  therefore,  when  they  come  off,  better.  If  you 
are  tossing  your  lobs  beyond  the  base-line,  then  I 
would  say  to  you,  put  a  bit  of  your  strength  into 

49 


50  MODERN  TENNIS 

height.  It  will  sometimes  correct  your  length, 
and  in  any  case  a  dead-dropping  ball  is  always 
harder  to  volley  than  one  approaching  you.  You 
must  not  try  a  low  lob  unless  your  opponent  is 
well  in  and  threatening  you. 

As  in  a  lob-volley,  this  stroke  must  be  played  so 
that  the  racket  comes  well  underneath  the  ball,  so 
as  to  lift  it  clear  of  your  opponent  at  the  net.  I  do 
not  suppose  that  it  has  occurred  to  many  players 
to  divide  the  distance  of  their  lobs.  A  plain  lob 
will,  after  it  has  ceased  to  ascend,  descend  in  very 
much  the  same  curve  as  that  in  which  it  has  as- 
cended. It  always  seems  to  me  that  the  object  of 
a  player  in  lobbing  should  be  to  divide  his  distance, 
if  I  may  so  express  it,  and  to  play  for  that  point 
where  he  intends  the  ball  to  cease  rising.  I  have 
tried  this,  and  I  believe  it  leads  to  increased 
accuracy  in  lobbing. 

In  my  next  chapter  on  the  lob,  reference  will  be 
made  to  "cut  lobs."  It  would  certainly  in  theory 
be  wrong  to  "divide  the  distance"  for  these,  as 
they  must  fall  straighter  than  a  plain  lob.  About 
two-thirds  of  the  distance  to  the  point  you  want 
should  do  for  a  cut  lob. 

Always  lob  to  your  opponent's  backhand  for 
preference,  and  you  will  find  a  low  lob  down  the 
side-line  a  wonderful  passing  shot  at  times,  as 
your  opponent  has  to  get  right  under  it  before 
he  can  reach  it.  This  is  a  much-neglected  and 
very  valuable  shot. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  BALL 

IT  has  always  been  a  matter  of  surprize  to  me 
that  tennis-writers  have  never  devoted  any  con- 
sideration to  this  most  interesting  subject.  When 
a  tennis-ball  is  struck  by  the  racket,  with  the  face 
of  the  racket  at  right  angles  to  the  intended  line 
of  flight  of  the  ball  and  the  racket  following 
through  truly,  the  ball  departs  on  its  journey  to 
the  point  to  which  it  was  hit,  with  a  minimum  of 
rotation,  and  only  approaches  the  earth  by  gradual 
descent  as  called  upon  by  the  immutable  laws  of 
nature,  and  on  alighting  it  immediately  bounds  up 
again  from  the  ground  at  almost  the  same  angle 
as  that  at  which  it  hit  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  great  number  of 
strokes  played  in  tennis  in  which  the  ball  is  not 
struck  fairly.  The  racket  passes  obliquely  across 
the  intended  line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  and  in  doing 
so,  the  face  of  it  comes  into  violent  contact  with 
the  ball,  "gripping,"  or  entering  into  frictional 
engagement  with  the  cover  of  it,  and  "brush- 
ing" it  round  as  it  leaves  the  face  of  the 
racket.  There  are  many  ways  of  doing  this,  but 
there  are,  I  think,  four  primary  rotary  motions 
which  may  be  imparted  to  the  tennis  ball,  the 
North,  South,  East  and  West  of  rotation,  and  all 

51 


52  MODERN  TENNIS 

others,  it  seems  to  me,  are  a  combination  of  some 
two,  or  a  modification  of  some  one,  of  these.  The 
principal  strokes  which  produce  these  motions, 
and  the  results  of  these  strokes  are  as  follows : — 

I.  There  is  the  overhead  forehand  cut  service, 
which  imparts  to  the  ball  horizontal  rotation  from 
right  to  left.    Nearly  the  same  rotation  is  impart- 
ed by  the  very  rare  and  practically  obsolete  under- 
hand backhand  service. 

II.  There  is  the  reverse  overhead  service,  which 
imparts  horizontal  rotation  from  left  to  right. 
The  ordinary  fore-underhand  cut  service  produces 
almost  the  same  rotation. 

III.  There  is  the  drive  with  upward  lift,  which 
imparts  vertical  forwardly  rotating  motion  to  the 
ball. 

IV.  There  is  the  chop,  which  imparts  vertical 
backwardly  rotating  motion  to  the  ball. 

I  am,  of  course,  taking  the  direction  of  the  rota- 
tion from  the  time  and  point  of  contact  of  the  ball 
with  the  racket. 

Now  all  these  spins  and  many  varieties  of 
them  produce  quite  distinct  flights,  a  matter  which 
must  be  carefully  studied  and  mastered  by  him 
who  would  excel  beyond  ordinary  men. 

I  shall  later  on  deal  specifically  with  each  stroke, 
and  shall  endeavor  to  interweave  into  each  chapter 
such  information  on  the  flight  of  the  ball,  and  its 
conduct  on  landing,  as  in  each  case  I  may  deem 
desirable. 


NORMAX  E.  BROOKES — SERVING 

Brookes'  service  is  not  so  spectacular  as  McLoughlin's,  but 
those  who  saw  the  memorable  17- — 15  set  at  the  recent  Davis 
Cup  meeting  know  how  effective  it  Is. 

PLATE  10 


THE   FLIGHT   OF   BALL  53 

I  may  mention  here  that  in  the  Messrs.  Do- 
hertys'  recent  work  on  Tennis,  in  dealing  with  the 
American  services,  which  are  exaggerations  of 
our  reverse  overhead  service,  or  a  combination  of 
some  two,  or  a  modification  of  some  one,  of  the 
four  primary  rotary  motions,  the  authors  say  that 
"the  ball  travels  on  the  racket  itself  from  the 
wood  at  one  side  right  to  the  wood  at  the  other 
side."  This,  I  have  little  hesitation  in  saying,  is 
quite  inaccurate,  for  it  is,  in  all  -services,  the  al- 
most momentary  impact  of  the  racket  upon  the 
ball  which  imparts  to  the  latter  its  rotation,  and 
in  every  effective  service  or  stroke,  it  follows  as 
a  matter  of  almost  elementary  theory  that  you 
should  strike  the  ball  with,  or  as  near  as  possible 
to,  the  center  of  the  racket.  I  mention  this  matter 
here  as  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  players 
thoroughly  grasp  the  correct  theory  of  producing 
the  rotation  of  the  ball.  Unless  this  be  done  the 
result  will  be  disastrous,  and  if  Messrs.  Dohertys' 
statement  is  correct,  it  opens  up  a  wide  field  for 
new  and  startling  theories. 

Second  only  in  importance,  if,  indeed,  it  is  sec- 
ond, to  the  oft  and  properly  repeated  charge  im- 
prest upon  players  by  Messrs.  Doherty,  "Keep 
your  eye  on  the  ball,"  is  "Hit  the  ball  with  the 
center  of  your  racket";  but  if  the  Americans  can 
get  such  good  results  by  hitting  the  ball  with  the 
short  dead  strings  at  the  side  of  the  racket,  why 
then  should  we  not  use  them  for  our  forehand  serv- 


54  MODEBN  TENNIS 

ice,  if  not  indeed  for  general  play  where  rotation 
of  the  ball  is  desired?  I  am  always  trying  to 
learn,  always  looking  for  that  which  is  good  and 
new,  or  interesting,  and  which  tends  to  improve 
the  game,  but  I  must  confess  that  I  can  not  here 
see  anything  to  tempt  me  to  further  research  or 
experiment. 

One  might  also  be  pardoned  for  asking  if,  after 
the  moment  of  impact  at  the  one  side  of  the  racket, 
the  ball  remains  on  the  racket  until  it  gets  * '  right 
to  the  wood  at  the  other  side, ' '  what  then  induces 
it  to  depart  on  its  mission  in  life  before  the  wood 
hits  it  and  destroys  the  usefulness  of  the  stroke? 


STROKES  — CLASS   II 

SERVICE 

ALL  the  general  rules  laid  down  for  the  simple 
service  and  strokes  apply  with  equal  force  to  the 
more  advanced  methods  of  service  and  striking 
the  ball,  which  I  am  now  about  to  deal  with,  with 
this  exception,  that  as  the  stroke  is  a  glancing 
blow  it  stands  to  reason  that  your  "follow 
through" — if  it  may  be  so  called — is  not  in  a  line 
with  the  flight  of  the  ball. 

Taking  them  in  the  order  mentioned,  I  have  to 
deal  with  the  forehand  overhead  cut  service.  This 
is  a  very  useful  variation.  Fig.  8  will  show  the 
manner  in  which  the  ball  is  struck  to  produce  the 
rotation.  The  ball  is  thrown  up  in  the  usual  way 
(altho  afterward,  when  you  become  more  expert 
and  want  to  accentuate  the  spin,  you  throw  it  up 
further  away  from  you  at  the  same  elevation,  and 
in  a  line  with  your  right  shoulder  a  little  in  front), 
and  struck  a  glancing  blow,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
8,  which  is  a  plan — that  is,  you  are  looking  down 
from  above  the  court  on  top  of  the  racket. 

This  cut  imparts  a  considerable  rotation  from 
right  to  left,  A  to  B,  which  causes  the  ball  to 
curl  in  the  air  from  right  to  left,  and  when  it 
strikes  the  ground  to  keep  very  low,  and  break 

55 


56 


MODERN  TENNIS 


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NORMAN   K.  BKOOKKS — SKI;YI.\<; 

This  plate  shows  the  ball  on  the  racket.  Brookes  does  not 
generally  get  the  hall  until  he  has  gone  right  up  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  reach  as  shown  here.  This  produces  forehand  cut. 

PLATE  11 


SERVICE  57 

away  from  right  to  left,  0  to  D.  The  amount  of 
"work"  on  the  ball  makes  it  very  difficult  to  return 
accurately.  It  pitches  frequently  on  the  side-line 
at  C  close  in  under  the  highest  part  of  the  net, 
and  drives  your  opponent  right  off  the  court  to  D. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  if  you 
indulge  in  this  form  of  it  too  often,  you  let  him 
get  close  up  to  the  net,  but  it  is  a  fine  variation, 
after  having  worked  him  to  the  middle  of  the 
court,  to  whip  one  of  these  across. 

If  the  wind  happens  to  be  blowing  across  the 
court  from  right  to  left  (I  am  speaking  from 
the  server's  position),  one  can  borrow  greatly 
from  the  opposing  player's  backhand  court  when 
serving,  as  the  amount  of  curl  which  can  be  put  on 
this  service  then  is  astonishing.  It  is  the  same 
with  a  golf  ball.  Hit  it  " clean  and  true,"  and  you 
can  drive  it  into  the  teeth  of  a  gale.  Slice  it,  and 
the  wind  grips  it  and  carries  it  right  away. 

The  reverse  overhead  cut  service,  which  is  a 
most  valuable  delivery,  is,  as  its  name  expresses, 
practically  the  reverse  of  that  just  described.  It 
has  a  deceptive  flight  and  break,  keeps  low  and 
drives  the  striker-out  off  the  court.  It  is  played 
as  shown  in  Fig.  9,  the  racket,  A  B,  traveling 
obliquely  across  the  ball  from  right  to  left  in  the 
line  C  D,  and  imparting  horizontal  left  to  right 
rotation  E  F. 

Practically  the  same  rotation  as  that  on  an  or- 
dinary reverse  service  is  imparted  by  the  forehand 


58  MODERN  TENNIS 

underhand  cut  service,  which  is  by  no  means  a 
despicable  change,  especially  when  one  is  serving 
against  a  troublesome  sun. 

The  backhand  underhand  cut  service  is  almost 
obsolete,  so  I  shall  not  waste  time  referring  to  it. 
Sometimes  a  man  worries  a  lady  in  a  mixed  double 
with  it. 

The  ordinary  underhand  cut  service  is  pro- 
duced by  dropping  the  ball,  and  bringing  the 
racket  smartly  across  it  with  that  "brushing" 
motion  (I  can  not  find  a  better  word)  from  right 
to  left,  which  imparts  to  it  a  horizontal  rotation 
from  left  to  right,  causing  it  to  break  from  left  to 
right.  I  am  speaking  as  the  server  now.  See 
Fig.  10. 

The  Americans  have  another  service  which  they 
deliver  by  throwing  the  ball  up  well  over  the  left 
shoulder  or  beyond.  They  then  bend  themselves 
over  toward  the  left  and  strike  the  ball  with  a 
glancing  upward  stroke,  which  imparts  vertical 
f  orwardly  rotating  action  with  sometimes  a  slight 
admixture  of  right  to  left  horizontal  spin.  The 
result  is  a  most  peculiar  bound  which  takes  you  a 
little  while  to  analyze.  They  almost  hit  from 
under  the  ball.  This  service,  well  executed,  pro- 
duces really — if  you  can  understand  what  I  mean 
— the  same  rotation  and  flight  as  a  lifting  drive, 
only  it  proceeds  through  the  air  as  tho  the  drive 
were  lying  over  at  an  angle  of  say  45  degrees. 
The  ball  curves  in  the  air  to  the  right  of  the 


SERVICE 


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60 


MODERN  TENNIS 


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62  MODERN  TENNIS 

striker-out.  Generally  speaking,  it  would  break 
that  way.  It  does  not:  it  breaks  to  his  left.  I 
shall  try  to  show  you  the  action  in  Fig.  11,  altho 
you  must  understand  that  the  ball  is  rotating 
and  proceeding  through  the  air  at,  say,  an  angle 
of  45  degrees  to  the  ground. 

This  is  a  most  difficult  stroke  to  explain  ver- 
bally, but  as  it  is  rather  a  rare  service  I  must  try. 
In  Fig.  14  I  have  shown  the  peculiar  action  of  the 
flight  of  the  lifting  drive.  Now  you  must  look  at 
Fig.  12  and  think  that  you  are  standing  right  be- 
hind the  stand  A,  which  is  on  your  base-line,  and 
that  you  are  facing  down  the  court  toward  the 
other  base-line.  If  you  hit  the  ball  B  which  re- 
volves on  the  axis  C  D  with  the  stroke  for  the 
lifting  drive,  you  will  make  it  revolve  from  E  to 
F,  that  is  with  vertical  forwardly  rotating  action. 
Consider  the  stand  hinged  at  A.  Push  it  down  to 
an  angle  of  45  degrees  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
stand.  The  ball  has  still  the  rotation  of  the  lift  in 
a  forehand  drive,  but  is  rotating  at  an  angle  of  45 
degrees  to  the  ground  instead  of  vertically.  This 
accounts  naturally  for  its  peculiar  bound  which  at 
first  glance  might  seem  unnatural.  Now  put  your 
American,  G,  under  the  ball  to  show  his  service. 
Stop  it  revolving.  See,  he  is  going  to  hit  upward, 
and  his  racket  will  pass  across  the  ball  as  shown 
by  the  curve  H  I.  It  is  really  an  overhead  lifting 
volley.  It  is  somewhat  hard  to  explain,  but  I 
think  you  will  be  able  to  get  it.  It  is  lift  or  for- 


SERVICE 


63 


64  MODERN  TENNIS 

ward  rotatory  motion  produced  by  an  overhead 
shot  instead  of  an  underhand  one. 

It  is  the  lifting  drive  played  as  a  volley  over- 
head. Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  this  service 
may  also  be  served  by  throwing  the  ball  up  on  the 
forehand  side,  and  hitting  it  upward  in  a  similar 
manner.  I  fancy  this  will  prove  a  novelty  for 
most  players,  and  I  haVe  not  seen  it  much  used  in 
America,  but  it  is  nearly  as  valuable  as  the  other. 
See  K,  Fig.  12.  The  peculiarity  of  this  latter 
service  is  that  you  almost  face  the  net  to  deliver 
it. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  ball  may  be  served  with 
a  "chop"  or  downward  cut  which  imparts  vertical 
backwardly  rotating  spin  to  it,  and  causes  it  to 
keep  very  close  to  the  ground  after  it  has  struck. 
A  command  of  these  deliveries  gives  one  a  great 
advantage  in  serving,  for  it  enables  one  to  vary 
one's  pace,  place,  break,  and  length  in  a  most  puz- 
zling manner,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that 
ability  to  do  this  is  of  the  highest  importance. 
The  service  of  many  of  our  leading  players  is 
much  too  stereotyped.  Altho  the  cut  generally 
detracts  somewhat  from  the  pace  and  length  of  a 
service,  it  gives,  I  think,  greater  command  of  the 
ball  and  accuracy  in  placing,  and  with  some  of 
them  gives  you  more  time  to  follow  up ;  moreover, 
the  work  on  the  ball,  especially  if  your  opponent 
attempts  to  play  it  too  soon,  will  render  his  return 
less  accurate  than  off  a  plain  ball.  In  returning 


NORMAN   K.  BKOOKKS — SKUVINO 

Hrookcs  produces  his  service  in  a  singularly  effortless  manner. 
He  varies  his  forehand  cut  with  top.  and  conceals  the  character 
of  his  delivery  most  cleverly. 

PLATK  lii 


SERVICE  65 

these  services  they  must  be  distinctly  hit;  you 
must  not  let  them  hit  the  racket  when  the  work 
on  them  is  proceeding  vigorously.  If  you  do,  you 
will  find  the  ball  gripping  your  racket  and  curling 
off.  You  must  do  the  striking,  and  do  it  with  a 
very  firm  wrist. 

I  do  not  wish  you  to  run  away  with  the  idea  that 
all  these  rotary  motions  should  be  inflicted  upon 
the  ball  without  provocation.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
I  consider,  that  as  in  billiards,  so  in  tennis,  "side" 
— to  use  the  billiard  term — should  only  be  im- 
parted to  the  ball  when  the  stroke  calls  for  it,  and 
you  have  a  definite  object  in  so  doing.  I  know 
several  very  fine  players  who  use  a  plain-face 
racket  most  of  the  time,  but  notwithstanding  this 
fact,  the  importance  of  a  proper  understanding 
and  command  of  the  strokes  which  produce  rota- 
tion can  not  be  overestimated. 


THE  FOREHAND  DRIVE 

No.  Ill,  I  have  called  the  drive  with  upward 
lift,  which  imparts  vertical  forwardly  rotating 
spin  to  the  ball.  This  action  which  produces  the 
spin,  and  the  spin  itself,  have  been  called  a  variety 
of  names.  The  spin  has  been  called  "drop," 
"top,"  "roll,"  "rib,"  "lift,"  "loft,"  "up  rib," 
"up  lift,"  and  so  on  in  different  parts  of  the 
world.  It  might,  I  think,  quite  accurately  be 
called  "uppercut,"  but  I  shall  herein  call  it  "lift." 

In  this  stroke,  the  racket  A  B  passes  forwardly 
and  upwardly  in  an  oblique  direction  across  the 
intended  line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
13,  brushing  violently  against  the  ball  as  it  passes 
at  G.  It  is  played  to  a  great  extent  as  a  kind  of 
half -arm  shot,  that  is  to  say,  that  the  arm  above 
the  elbow  does  not  enter  into  the  shot  so  much 
as  the  forearm,  which  brings  the  racket  up  with  a 
sharp  brushing  motion  across  the  ball  and  on 
upward  and  forward. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  immediately  the 
racket  hits  the  ball  at  G,  it  gets  a  grip  on  it,  and 
sends  it  away  rotating  from  G  to  E,  that  is,  for- 
wardly and  downwardly. 

This  stroke  is  unquestionably  the  most  valuable 
ground-stroke  in  modern  tennis,  and  a  correct 

66 


THE   FOREHAND   DRIVE 


67 


68  MODERN  TENNIS 

appreciation  of  its  manifold  merits  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  would-be  champion,  or 
indeed  to  any  one  who  intends  to  enjoy  the  game. 
The  peculiarity  of  the  flight  of  this  particular 
shot  is,  that  while  the  initial  velocity  of  the  stroke 
is  on,  the  ball  springs  away  rapidly,  and  in  many 
cases  you  would  count  that  it  was  going  easily  out 
of  the  court,  when  suddenly,  the  initial  force  being 
spent,  the  downward  rotation  asserts  itself,  and  it 
dives  like  a  shot  bird  for  the  base-line,  and  is  con- 
verted into  a  fine-length  ball  that  takes  you  by 
surprize.  I  give  in  Fig.  14  a  diagram  of  the  flight 
and  bound  of  this  ball. 

Some  Americans  get  a  great  amount  of  lift 
on  their  strokes,  and  many  a  time  have  I  been 
deceived  into  considering  a  ball  well  out  of  court 
and  letting  it  go,  only  to  see  the  lift  assert  itself 
and  the  ball  pounce  down  in  the  court  by  the  base- 
line. This  flight  is  most  deceptive,  even  to  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  it,  and  unless  you  train 
yourself  to  watch  the  way  the  ball  is  struck  by  the 
racket,  and  to  consider  what  it  is  doing  in  the  air 
as  it  comes  to  you — a  point  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, yet  hitherto  scarcely  treated  of — you  will 
be  deceived  as  I  have  been,  and  as  I  have  seen 
the  Americans — altho  they  are  accustomed  to  the 
stroke — time  and  again.  In  all  diagrams  I  de- 
signedly show  the  face  of  the  racket  tilted  back- 
ward more  than  it,  generally  speaking,  should  be 
at  the  moment  of  impact.  This  is  a  good  idea  to 


NORMAN  E.  BROOKES — SERVING 

Here  is  shown  the  finish  of  llrookes'  service.     His  command  of 
pace  and  placing  is  unquestionably  very  remarkable. 

PLATE  13 


THE   FOREHAND  DRIVE 


69 


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70  MODERN  TENNIS 

start  with,  for  the  commonest  fault  in  this  stroke 
is  to  tilt  the  racket  forward  too  soon,  instead  of 
having  it  at  the  moment  of  impact  practically 
vertical. 

Another  great  virtue  in  this  shot  is,  that  by 
reason  of  its  quick-dropping  habit,  it  is  a  fine 
passing  shot.  "Well  played,  it  comes  over  the  net 
and  dives  for  the  volleyer's  feet,  when  he  is  ex- 
pecting quite  another  foot  of  length,  and  then  it  is 
a  terribly  awkward  ball  from  which  to  make  an 
effective  return.  Still  another  and  by  no  means 
an  unimportant  virtue  that  it  possesses,  is  that  it 
is  a  natural  climber.  The  moment  it  hits  the  net 
it  grips  it,  and  starts  climbing  for  all  it  is  worth, 
and  I  have  seen  balls  with  lots  of  lift  climbing 
inches.  You  will  recognize  in  a  moment  from  Fig. 
15  that  this  is  so.  This  faculty  is  not  possest  in  a 
similar  degree  by  any  other  ball,  and  when  a  man 
has  his  day  of  "hitting  the  duck,"  it  is  not  to  be 
despised.  On  the  other  hand,  a  back-cut  ball  pro- 
ceeds to  roll  down  directly  it  grips  the  net,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  16. 

According  to  all  generally  accepted  ideas,  one 
would  expect  the  forehand  drive  with  lift  from  its 
rotation  to  grip  the  ground  and  spring  suddenly 
and  sharply  forward  with  much  accentuated  pace, 
but  this  is  not  usually  so.  The  sudden  descent 
which  it  makes  when  the  initial  force  of  the  drive 
is  spent,  allows  it  to  get  up  and  be  played  without 
difficulty,  except  occasionally,  when  you  get  a  very 


71 


FIGURE    15 

SHOWING  How  LIFT  CLIMBS  UP  THE 
NET 


FIGURE  16 

SHOWING  How  Cur  OR  CHOP  TRIES  TO 
BOLL  DOWN  THE  NET 


72  MODEEN  TENNIS 

hot  one.  The  obvious  reply  is  a  similar  drive 
(for  that  grips  and  checks  the  rotary  action  which 
is  already  on  the  ball),  or  a  plain-face  return.  If, 
however,  you  should  intend  to  "chop"  it,  you 
must  remember  that  it  has  already  on  it  that  spin 
which  you  intend  to  produce,  and  that  the  effect 
of  your  shot  will  be  to  accentuate  such  spin,  and, 
if  you  play  the  ball  at  an  ordinary  elevation,  to 
make  the  return  fly  higher  than  you  intended.  In 
any  case  where  you  are  accentuating  the  rotation 
this  must  be  borne  in  mind.  Fig.  17  explains  this. 

You  may  remember  that  in  this  matter  of  rota- 
tion it  is  a  question  of  "Like  answers  like,"  that 
is,  a  forehand  drive  with  top  meets  and  checks 
pure  top  spin  (see  Fig.  18)  and  likewise  a  back 
or  downward  cut  stops  the  backward  rotary 
action  on  a  similar  ball,  and  for  this  reason  it 
always  seems  to  me  that  when  replying  in  this 
manner  to  these  shots,  they  may,  perhaps,  be 
treated  more  vigorously  than  if  you  are  playing 
them  with  a  plain  face,  for  there  is  always  the 
upward  striving  of  the  front  of  the  ball  (which 
infallibly  takes  place  the  moment  the  ball  grips 
your  racket)  for  you  to  "come  and  go  on"  and 
to  overcome  by  your  lifting  drive ;  and  vice  versa 
in  a  chopped  ball. 

The  prime  merit  of  the  lifting  drive  lies  in  the 
fact  that  by  means  of  it  you  are  enabled  to  hit  the 
ball  much  harder,  and  yet  keep  it  within  the  court, 
than  you  can  do  with  a  plain-face  stroke.  Also, 


ANTHONY   F.   WILDIXO — SERVING 

Wilding  stands  very  far  behind  the  line  when  serving.     Notice 
the  position  of  the  racket  and  arm  with   the  elbow  high  up. 

PLATE  14 


THE   FOREHAND   DRIVE 


73 


"¥" 


74  MODERN  TENNIS 

with  a  good  command  of  this  stroke  you  can  keep 
a  fine  length,  and  generally,  owing  to  the  sudden 
curvature  of  its  flight  at  the  end — except  in  very 
fast  balls,  when  it  is  not  so  apparent — the  return 
has  a  good  bound  and  so  keeps  your  opponent  well 
back. 
The  theory  of  this  stroke,  and,  indeed,  the 


FIGURE  18 

LIFT  TO  LIFT  CHECKS  EOTATION.    INITIAL  ROTATION  SHOWN  BY 

AEEOW  OUTSIDE  BALL — EOTATION  AFTER  STROKE  BY 

ARROW  INSIDE 

practise,  when  once  the  theory  is  thoroughly 
grasped,  are  so  simple  and  yet  valuable,  that  it  is 
a  wonder  that  more  stress  has  not  been  laid  upon 
them.  I  have  seen  youths  vainly  cleaving  the  air 
with  frantic  energy,  who,  when  I  have  asked  them 
for  what  they  strove,  were  at  a  loss  to  explain. 

I  shall  give  here  a  diagram  which  shows  very 
clearly  the  principle  (Fig.  19),  and  shall  suggest  a 
means  whereby  the  practise  may  be  acquired.  If 
you  can  not  get  a  friend  to  practise  shots  with  you 
— and  I  must  admit  it  is  hard  to  find  any  one  with 
energy  and  intelligence  enough  in  these  degener- 
ate days  to  practise  their  scales  thoroughly  before 
they  "start  right  in  on  Wagner" — you  must  try 


THE   FOREHAND   DRIVE  75 

to  get  a  blank  wall  with  a  piece  of  smooth  ground 
or  asphalt  in  front  of  it.  Mark  upon  this  wall  a 
line  H,  say  three  feet  high.  Hit  your  ball  against 


\f 


FlGUEE  19 

SHOWING  How  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  THE  LIFTING  DRIVE  MAY  BE 

LEARNED 

the  wall  at  F,  and  when  it  has  struck  the 
ground  at  I,  risen  to  the  top  of  its  bound  J,  and  is 
beginning  to  fall  (later  on  you  may  attack  it 
earlier),  " brush"  your  racket  A  B  against  its 
face,  moving  it  sharply  up  in  the  line  G  D  as  shown 


76  MODERN  TENNIS 

in  Fig.  19,  hitting  the  ball  as  near  the  center  C  of 
your  racket  A  B  as  you  can.  In  this  case  you  will 
see  that  the  face  of  the  racket  is  inclined  back  at 
an  angle  from  A  to  B.  As  the  ball  drops  and 
your  racket  travels  smartly  up  they  meet  at  C. 
Instantly  the  downward  flight  of  the  ball  is  ar- 
rested at  C,  but  continues  at  the  opposite  side  E, 
and  at  the  same  moment  your  racket  has  gripped 
and  rapidly  pushed  up  the  side  of  the  ball  at  C, 
and  passed  on,  imparting  vertical  forward  rotary 
action  (about  a  horizontal  axis),  in  other  words, 
top  spin,  to  the  ball  from  C  to  E. 

At  first  the  ball  will  merely  receive  a  little  spin, 
go  forward  a  few  feet,  and  drop.  As,  however, 
you  get  the  idea  into  your  head,  you  will  alter  the 
angle  of  the  face  of  the  racket  to  suit  the  flight  of 
the  ball,  and  the  distance  you  wish  it  to  carry, 
and  will  gradually  make  your  stroke,  instead  of 
a  perpendicular  "brush"  upward,  go  more 
through  your  shot  at  an  angle  approaching  that 
from  A  to  F.  Very  soon  afterward  you  will  dis- 
cover that  you  can  improve  this  shot  with  a  bit  of 
what  is  commonly  called  wrist-work,  which  will 
come  quite  naturally.  This,  however,  is  not  true 
wrist-work.  It  comes  mainly  from  the  forearm 
roll  and  the  elbow,  except  in  the  case  of  the  full 
arm  drive,  when  it  is  pure  upward  sweep  across 
the  ball. 

So  many  players  make  this  shot  in  different 
ways,  that  I  can  not  lay  down  any  hard  and  fast 


ANTHONY   F.    WILDING — SERVING 

Observe  the  angle  of  the  face  of  the  racket  and  how  Wilding 
is  throwing  his  whole  weight  into  the  stroke. 

PLATE  15 


THE   FOREHAND   DRIVE  77 

rules  as  to  the  exact  angle  at  which  the  blade  of 
the  racket  must  be  held.  That  depends  on  so 
many  things — the  bound  of  the  ball,  the  work  that 
is  on  it,  whether  you  do  much  wrist-work  or  not, 
the  height  at  which  you  play  it,  and  quite  a  few 
other  things.  I  must  content  myself  with  show- 
ing you  how  to  get  the  stroke,  and  must  leave  you 
to  adjust  your  own  angles  and  the  amount  of  for- 
ward motion  you  put  into  your  shot. 

The  same  rotation  may  be  obtained  by  pure  lift 
on  a  straight  underhand  shot  played  from  beside 
the  right  foot,  but  it  requires  very  accurate  timing 
and  moreover  possesses  no  advantage  over  the 
shot  above  described. 

There  is  another  forehand  drive  that  is  a  very 
useful  shot,  particularly  if  you  are  cramped  for 
room.  This  is  a  kind  of  cross  between  the  spin 
imparted  by  the  fore-underhand  cut  service  and 
that  of  the  lifting  drive,  and  is  obtained  by  bring- 
ing the  racket,  with  swing  as  for  the  forehand 
plain  drive,  between  the  right  leg  and  the  line  of 
flight  of  the  ball,  instead  of,  as  in  the  ordinary 
drive,  hitting  the  ball  at  the  back  with  a  tendency 
toward  the  side  farther  from  you.  The  stroke  is 
played  by  bringing  the  face  of  the  racket  across 
the  ball  at,  as  nearly  as  I  can  say,  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees,  so  that  the  shot  imparts  a  little 
of  both  "cut"  and  "lift"  to  the  ball,  which  in  its 
flight  has  the  distinctive  final  "dive"  of  the  lifted 
ball,  and  on  account  of  the  cross  "cut"  (similar 


78  MODERN  TENNIS 

to  the  underhand  service)  frequently  after  hitting 
the  ground  keeps  low.  It  is  distinctly  a  useful 
and,  when  well  played,  by  no  means  ungraceful 
shot.  It  is  not,  however,  much  used  by  those  who 
have  the  lifting  drive,  and  possesses  few,  if  any, 
advantages  over  that  shot.  The  sister  stroke  to 
this,  namely,  the  pulled  drive,  is  so  rarely  used 
that  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  negligible  quantity. 
It  is  obtained  by  swinging  out  across  the  ball, 
taking  it  low.  This  puts  modified  top  on  the  ball, 
makes  it  keep  low  and  dive  sharply  across  court. 
This  is,  probably,  the  rarest  stroke  in  tennis. 

I  have  not  so  far  dealt  specifically  with  the 
drive  in  which  the  ball  is  taken  at  the  top  of  the 
bound,  altho,  of  course,  the  lifting  drive  may  be 
quite  conveniently  used  for  this  stroke.  Some- 
times it  is  played  with  a  plain  face,  and  then  it  is 
almost  a  horizontal  sweep  with  a  clean  follow 
through,  the  lower  side  of  the  blade  of  the  racket 
being,  if  anything,  a  little  above  the  hand.  Quite 
a  logical  pursuance,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  of  this 
stroke  is  the  drive  off  a  rising  ball,  which  I  feel 
confident  will  in  the  near  future  play  an  important 
part  in  the  game.  In  this  stroke  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  the  nature  of  the  flight  of 
the  ball  be  considered,  and  a  due  appreciation  be 
had  of  the  angle  at  which  the  face  of  the  racket 
should  be  held.  This  will  be  apparent  from  a 
study  of  Figs.  20  and  21. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  generally  speak- 


THE   FOEEHAND   DEIVE 

G 


79 


"  C 


FIGURE  20 
SHOWING  EEEOE  OF  PLAYING  EISING  BALL  WITH  VERTICAL  FACE 


FIGURE  21 

SHOWING  FACE  OF  BACKET  INCLINING  FORWARD  TO  CORRECT  EISING 
TENDENCY  OF  BALL  IN  INTERRUPTED  BOUND  B  C 

ing,  apart  from  any  adventitious  aids  to  the  ball, 
the  angles  of  incidence  and  reflection  are  the  same ; 
in  other  words,  a  ball,  provided  it  has  no  spin  or 
work,  will  rebound  from  a  wall  or  the  ground,  or 
the  face  of  the  racket  held  still  and  firmly,  at 
almost  exactly  the  same  angle  as  that  at  which  it 
hits  it.  In  playing  at  a  rising  ball,  many  players 
forget  this,  and  do  not  so  use  the  blade  of  the 
racket  as  to  counteract  the  upward  tendency  of 
the  ball.  For  instance,  in  Fig.  20,  the  ball  pitches 
from  A  to  B  and  strikes  the  ground  at  B.  It  im- 


80  MODERN  TENNIS 

mediately  bounds  off  at  the  same  angle,  and  strives 
to  follow  the  course  B  C  before  it  commences  to 
drop.  If  then  it  be  met  at  F  with  a  vertical  racket 
E  D,  as  is  so  often  done,  it  will  unquestionably 
endeavor  to  fly  off  the  face  at  the  natural  angle 
F  G.  This  tendency  is  certainly  checked  consider- 
ably by  the  impact  of  the  racket,  but  it  is  there 
nevertheless,  and  must  and  will  assert  itself 
in  however  small  a  degree.  To  correct  this,  the 
blade  of  the  racket  must  in  playing  all  lifted  or 
plain  rising  balls,  especially  balls  with  much  pace 
on  them,  be  inclined  forward  as  at  E  D,  Fig.  21, 
to  counteract  this  upward  tendency  and  produce 
the  flight  F  G.  In  attacking  all  rising  balls,  this 
idea  should  be  firmly  kept  in  mind,  and  once  the 
mechanical  principle  involved  is  grasped,  I  believe 
that  all  players  will  deal  with  a  rising  ball  with 
much  greater  confidence  and  certainty  than  they 
do  now. 

Few,  if  any,  players  have  thoroughly  grasped 
this  principle.  So  strong  is  this  upward  tendency 
that  if  the  ball  be  rising  fast,  and  is  fairly  high, 
it  can  be  played  in  an  almost  unreturnable  manner 
with  forehand  lift  or  top,  which  hits  the  ball  with 
almost  a  horizontal  sweep  at  that  portion  which 
lies  half-way  between  the  points  F  and  H,  and,  if 
anything,  sometimes  a  little  further  forward, 
especially  if  the  ball  be  near  the  net. 

I  have  never  seen  a  player  deliberately  attempt 
to  use  the  lifting  stroke  for  a  lob,  but  I  am  certain 


ANTHONY   F.   WILDING — SERVING 

Wilding  has  now  played  Lis  stroke.  The  ball  is  seen  in  flight 
and  Wilding's  racket  goes  on  upward,  above  where  he  struck 
the  ball,  thus  producing  top  or  the  American  service. 

PLATE  16 


THE   FOEEHAND   DRIVE  81 

"it  is  there"*  nevertheless,  for  of  course  the 
mechanical  principles  of  such  a  lob  and  a  drive 
are  exactly  similar,  and  I  have  seen  so  many  fine 
fast  deceptive  lobs  played  off  this  stroke  by  mis- 
hits, or  through  exaggerated  lift,  that  I  could  not 
but  be  struck  by  its  possibilities  in  the  hands  of 
a  skilful  exponent. 


*  A  year  after  this  was  written  I  saw  M.  Paul  de  Borman, 
whose  excessive  lift  is  well  known,  play  this  stroke  at  Wimble- 
don, and  he  told  me  that  he  had  used  it  very  effectively  in 
mixed  doubles.  It  is  not,  however,  worthy  of  special  culti- 
vation. 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE 

PRACTICALLY  all  the  general  principles  laid  down 
with  reference  to  the  forehand  lifting  drive  are 
applicable  to  the  backhand.  The  horizontal  shot 
on  the  backhand  is  one  of  the  very  finest  strokes  I 
know,  and  has  the  advantage  that  when  you  have 
mastered  it  you  can  make  an  effective  return  of  a 
ball  which  would  be  unreturnable,  or  returnable 
only  by  an  ineffective  shot,  in  any  other  way.  The 
shot  I  have  in  my  mind  is  when  you  are  caught  out 
of  position  by  a  ball  coming  straight  at  your 
middle.  Your  thumb  is  up  the  back  of  the  handle 
and  your  racket  practically  horizontal,  as  with  a 
half-swing  of  your  body,  and,  of  course,  transfer- 
ring your  weight  from  your  left  leg  to  your  right, 
you  draw  the  racket  smartly  across  in  front  of 
you,  and  upward  and  forward  at  the  same  time, 
producing  a  fine,  unexpected  return.  Some  of  the 
Australian  players  are  very  good  at  this  shot,  but 
naturally  it  is  more  effective  when  played  at  a 
proper  distance  from  the  ball. 

You  will  perhaps  ask  what  is  a  proper  distance. 
That  I  can  hardly  tell  you,  but  this  general  rule 
will  do,  I  think.  You  should  never  be  so  far  from 
the  ball  as  to  feel  that  you  have  to  make  the  least 
undue  effort  to  step  into  its  line  of  flight  suffi- 
ciently to  reach  it  easily ;  and  as  to  the  position  of 

82 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  83 

i 

your  arms,  my  invariable  rule  at  tennis  or  any- 
thing else  is  to  get  as  close  to  my  work  as  possible 
without  cramping,  and  whether  in  volleying  or 
driving  to  be  as  compact  as  I  can.  Have  nothing 
floating  about  loosely.  Every  muscle  is,  or  should 
be,  doing  its  appointed  work  as  you*  play.  Even 
the  despised  left  arm,  whose  tennis-muscle  is 
generally  so  sadly  lacking,  has  other  functions 
than  throwing  up  the  ball  for  the  service  and 
helping  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  racket  between 
strokes.  All  the  time  you  will  find  that  as  your 
right  arm  does  anything  his  sinister  brother  is 
closely  attending,  sympathizing,  and  balancing; 
and  if  he  isn't,  it's  your  fault,  not  his.  The  dis- 
engaged hand  should  never  be  dangling.  It  should 
always  be  lightly  clenched  and  under  full  control, 
as  shown  in  my  photographs  of  the  backhand 
stroke. 

The  rule  as  to  position  of  the  feet  is,  of  course, 
of  as  much  importance  here  as  in  the  ordinary 
plain-face  returns. 

Now  and  again  you  will  be  caught  out  of  position 
and  have  to  make  your  return  as  best  you  may, 
but  you  must  always  remember  the  importance  of 
playing  the  shot  in  correct  position  when  you  can. 

There  is  one  peculiarity  about  the  backhand 
stroke.  That  is,  that  you  can  play  a  lifting  drive 
with  a  vertical  stroke  with  far  more  certainty  than 
is  possible  with  a  forehand  shot.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  action  of  the  arm  as  it  is  drawn  up 


84  MODERN  TENNIS 

across  the  body  which  seems  to  lend  itself  to  the 
shot,  and,  played  with  a  free  swing  and  a  clean 
follow-through,  it  is  a  most  beautiful  and  effective 
stroke.  The  ball  must  be  struck  well  before  it  is  in 
line  with  the  body.  The  head  of  the  racket  hangs 
toward  the  ground,  and  the  hand  right  above  it  is 
traveling  rapidly  forward  and  obliquely  upward 
as  the  racket  encounters  the  ball.  At  the  moment 
of  impact  with  the  ball  the  face  of  the  racket  is 
almost  vertical,  and  when  the  stroke  is  finished, 
the  racket  is  pointing  high  up  in  front  of  the  right 
shoulder.  I  speak  here  of  the  drive  off  the  low 
ball.  The  photographs  explain  clearly  the  action 
for  low,  medium,  and  high  returns. 

In  both  this  stroke  and  the  forehand  drive  there 
is,  in  the  shot  of  most  players,  a  considerable 
amount  of  ''wrist- work"  which  imparts  pace  to 
the  racket  as  it'  travels  across  the  ball,  and  so 
adds  materially  to  the  amount  of  lift  or  top  im- 
parted to  a  return.  This,  however,  as  mentioned 
before,  will  come  almost  naturally  when  once  you 
have  learned  the  theory  of  the  stroke  and  have  fol- 
lowed it  up  assiduously  on  the  court  or  against  a 
wall. 

This  is  not  true  wrist-work.  It  is  mainly  de- 
rived from  the  turning  of  the  forearm.  The  dan- 
ger of  calling  it  "wrist-work"  lies  in  the  fact  that 
it  induces  many  to  put  the  turn  over  onto  the 
racket  too  soon,  which  generally  results  in  netting 
the  return. 


THE   BACKHAND    DRIVE  85 

The  backhand  drive  in  tennis  is  not  adequately 
described  in  any  book  on  the  game,  nor  has  it  ever 
been  fully  and  properly  described  in  any  paper 
or  periodical.  There  are  reasons  for  this  omis- 
sion by  authors  who  have  dealt  with  the  game, 
the  principal  of  these  being,  perhaps,  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  suitable  illustrations.  These,  so  far 
as  I  am  aware,  do  not  exist  apart  from  the  series 
illustrating  this  book.  Indeed,  it  is  a  matter  of 
extreme  difficulty  to  obtain  good  and  instructive 
photographs  of  this  beautiful  and  effective  stroke. 

The  backhand  tennis  drive  is  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  lost  art.  I  have  played  tennis  for 
twenty  years.  I  have  seen  all  the  great  modern 
players,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
the  backhand  stroke  to-day  is  much  poorer  than 
it  was  when  I  first  played  the  game. 

The  main  reason  for  this  is  the  introduction  of 
the  hold  of  the  racket  now  commonly  used  in  Eng- 
land. In  that  country  they  have  followed  the 
methods  of  the  Doherty  brothers,  who  used  prac- 
tically an  unchanged  grip.  The  late  B.  F.  Doherty 
did  indeed  move  his  thumb  a  little  for  his  hold 
in  making  the  backhand  drive,  but  in  effect  both 
he  and  H.  L.  Doheny  used  the  unchanged  grip, 
and  the  vast  army  of  players  in  England  who 
have  followed  their  methods  have  adopted  what 
is  practically  an  unchanged  grip;  that  is,  they 
play  the  backhand  stroke  without  changing  the 
grip  which  they  use  in  making  the  forehand  stroke. 


86  MODERN  TENNIS 

This,  of  course,  necessitates  producing  the  back- 
hand stroke  with  the  back  of  the  hand  toward  the 
ball,  as  shown  in  the  photograph  of  the  English 
backhand. 

It  is  in  this  respect  that  the  English  backhand 
hold  is  so  very  defective,  for  at  the  moment  of 
impact  the  back  of  the  wrist  is  presented  to  the 
net.  This  is  absolutely  fatal  so  far  as  regards 
obtaining  command  of  the  ball  or  power,  and, 
moreover,  it  generally  resolves  itself  into  a  weak 
undercut  return  of  a  purely  defensive  character, 
instead  of  being,  as  is  the  genuine  backhand  drive, 
a  fine  offensive  winning  shot,  a  forcing  and 
strategic  stroke  of  the  highest  value. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  absolutely  necessary  to 
undercut  the  backhand  with  this  hold.  R.  F. 
Doherty  did  not  undercut  his  backhand.  H.  L. 
Doherty  undercut  his  a  good  deal.  Andre  Gobert 
does  not  undercut  his  backhand,  nor  does  Wilding, 
but  those  who  use  this  hold  always  finish  across 
the  drive  instead  of  going  out  after  it  as  in  the 
true  stroke. 

The  Plates  show  the  proper  backhand  grip. 
Here  it  will  be  seen  that  the  arm  and  the  racket- 
handle  are  almost  in  the  same  straight  line;  in- 
deed, as  we  look  at  them  in  the  pictures,  they  are 
practically  in  the  same  straight  line,  which  is  what 
I  mean  when  I  say  they  must  be  in  the  same  plane 
of  force. 

This  plane  of  force  is  so  important  that  I  must 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  87 

make  it  a  little  clearer.  If  one  is  chopping  wood 
with  a  tomahawk,  at  the  moment  the  wood  is 
struck  one's  arm  and  the  handle  of  the  tomahawk 
are  not  in  the  same  line,  but  they  are  moving  in  the 
same  plane.  So  it  must  always  be  with  the  per- 
fectly produced  backhand  stroke  of  any  kind. 
The  principle  is  invariable.  The  picture  of  Nor- 
man Brookes  playing  a  backhand  stroke  is  a  great 
object-lesson  in  this  respect,  either  for  ground- 
strokes  or  volleying. 

A  question  that  is  frequently  asked  is,  "  Which 
side  of  the  racket  should  one  use  for  the  backhand 
stroke?"  and  another  favorite  interrogation  is, 
"Do  you  use  the  same  side  of  the  racket  for  both 
strokes?" 

The  compound  answer  to  these  questions  is  that 
it  does  not  matter  which  side  of  the  racket  is  used 
for  the  backhand  stroke,  but  that  one  should  use 
the  same  side  of  the  racket  as  that  used  for  play- 
ing the  forehand  stroke,  when  one  is  compelled  to 
change  from  the  forehand  to  the  backhand  grip 
to  play  the  shot. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  one  is  allowed  to  take  up 
one's  position,  ready  for  a  backhand  return,  it 
does  not  matter  which  side  of  the  racket  the  ball 
rebounds  from  or  is  struck  by,  except  possibly 
that  some  rackets  may  have  a  trifle  more  "send" 
in  them  on  the  forehand  driving  side.  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  matter  of  such  fine  distinction  that  we 
need  not  concern  ourselves  with  it. 


88  MODERN  TENNIS 

That  which  is  of  great  importance,  then,  so  far 
as  regards  the  playing-face  of  the  racket  on  the 
backhand,  is  not,  "Which  side  of  the  racket  shall 
I  use!"  but,  "How  am  I  to  arrive  at  the  side  to 
uset" 

In  the  proper  backhand  stroke  the  same  side  of 
the  racket  is  used  as  is  employed  in  the  forehand 
stroke.  The  reason  for  this  is  simple  when  ex- 
plained, yet  it  has  not  so  far  appeared  in  any  book 
on  the  game.  The  natural  finish  of  the  forehand 
stroke  rolls  the  racket  over  in  such  a  way  that  if 
one  desires,  as  one  frequently  does,  to  change  to 
the  backhand  grip,  it  is  done  with  ease,  and  with 
but  little  practise,  almost  automatically,  whereas, 
if  one  intends  to  play  the  backhand  stroke  with 
the  proper  grip,  but  with  the  opposite  side  of  the 
racket  to  that  used  for  the  forehand  stroke,  it  is 
necessary  to  arrest  the  follow-through  and  prac- 
tically to  "jump"  one's  change  of  grip,  especially 
if  the  return  has  been  quick. 

In  the  English  game,  on  account  of  the  defective 
grip,  the  ball  is  naturally  played  with  opposite 
sides  of  the  racket  and  the  grip  is  practically  un- 
changed. Tennis  can  not  properly  be  played 
thus.  England  will  have  to  realize  this  before  she 
regains  her  position  in  the  tennis  world. 

In  1904,  I  showed,  when  the  Doherty  brothers 
were  at  the  height  of  their  fame  and  winning 
everything  from  everybody,  including  the  Ameri- 
cans, that  this  method  of  stroke-production  in- 


ANTHONY   F.   WILDING — SERVING 

This  is  a  very,  characteristic  finish  of  Wilding's  service.  He 
is  into  his  stride  for  the  net.  Notice  that  the  finish  of  his  stroke 
is  backward. 

PLATE  17 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  89 

troduced  by  them  was  unsound  and  was  bound  to 
end  in  disaster  for  the  nation  or  body  of  players 
which  followed  it. 

I  maintained,  as  I  still  do,  that  this  stroke  is 
unnatural  and  that  it  is  unsuitable  for  at  least 
ninety-five  of  every  hundred  players. 

The  Dohertys  were  two  great  players  and  their 
success  justified  their  methods  in  so  far  as  they 
were  personally  concerned,  but  it  is  a  fact  of  over- 
whelming significance  that  England  has  not  pro- 
duced any  player,  fit  to  compare  with  the  Do- 
hertys, who  uses  the  hold  of  the  racket  introduced 
and  used  with  such  conspicuous  success  by  them. 

In  the  English  hold  the  player  is  applying  his 
force  at  the  side  of  the  racket  instead  of  from 
behind  it. 

I  must  give  a  very  simple  illustration  of  what  a 
loss  of  power  there  is  in  this  English  grip.  If  one 
desired  to  push  a  railway-truck  along  the  rails  the 
natural  way  would  be  to  get  between  the  rails  and 
push  in  a  line  with  them,  down  the  middle  of  the 
track.  Any  one  without  much  knowledge  of  me- 
chanics would  think  it  strange  to  see  one  standing 
outside  the  rails  and  applying  his  shoulder  to  a 
corner  of  the  truck  in  an  endeavor  to  propel  it, 
altho  this  method,  for  various  reasons,  including 
safety,  is  not  unpopular  among  those  who  have  to 
do  this  work. 

In  this  way  he  is  losing  much  of  his  force,  for 
his  power  is  not  directly  applied.  There  is  too 


90  MODERN  TENNIS 

great  a  ( '  component  of  waste, "  as  I  have  heard  it 
described. 

Now  it  is  precisely  this  component  of  waste 
energy  which  has  put  the  English  players  in  the 
background,  as  I  prophesied  would  be  the  case 
when  they  were  carrying  all  before  them. 

I  can  not  emphasize  this  too  much,  for  the  Eng- 
lish are  a  stubborn  race  and  can  not  learn,  at 
least  in  sport,  except  by  disaster. 

This  disaster  has  overtaken  them  in  the  world 
of  tennis,  but  not  before  they  have  done  incal- 
culable harm  to  the  game. 

It  is  easy  to  be  wise  after  the  event.  In  this 
case  I  anticipated  it  by  several  years,  and  I  am 
using  it  now  to  warn  players  in  America  and  the 
newer  lands,  such  as  Australia,  Canada,  and  New 
Zealand,  not  to  be  led  away  by  false  methods.  I 
am  afraid  they  are  too  deeply  ingrained  in  most 
of  the  Continental  players  for  my  teaching  to  have 
much  effect  for  some  time.  As  it  is  now,  even 
the  foremost  exponents  of  the  English  strokes 
fail  when  set  a  severe  test. 

Andre  Gobert,  the  brilliant  young  French 
player,  has  as  good  a  backhand  of  the  Doherty 
type  as  one  may  wish  to  see,  but  I  have  seen  it 
crack  up  and  go  to  pieces  under  the  force  of  A. 
W.  Gore's  fine  forehand  drive.  It  simply  had  not 
the  force  to  withstand  the  pounding  it  got.  The 
component  of  waste  was  too  large. 

A  curious  side-light  on  the  inefficient  English 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  91 

strokes  is  supplied  by  the  women  players.  They 
do  not  use  the  same  strokes  as  the  men.  They  have 
not  the  strength  to  waste.  The  man  is  stronger 
and  he  is  able  to  bring  off  his  stroke  in  a  tolerable 
manner  by  his  faulty  method,  but  the  component 
of  waste  will  always  find  him  out  in  a  long  match 
against  an  opponent  who  uses  correct  methods. 
Every  time  he  hits  the  ball  he  gets  hit  himself  in 
a  way  that  does  not  come  to  the  man  who  gets 
inside  the  rails  and  pushes  down  the  middle  of 
the  track.  For  him  there  is  no  waste  force.  Let 
us  look  at  this  hold  and  see  what  it  means. 

I  am  showing  in  this  book  the  proper  way  to 
hold  a  racket  for  the  backhand  drive.  There  is 
no  other  correct  way;  but  these  holds  are  not 
known  as  they  should  be,  yet  they  are  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  game  of  every  player. 

I  receive  a  great  number  of  inquiries  from 
divers  parts  of  the  world  about  how  to  hold  the 
racket  properly  for  the  backhand  stroke.  I  was 
under  the  impression  that  I  had  set  this  out  so 
clearly  in  my  books  that  one  could  not  fail  to 
understand,  but  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  many 
people  find  it  hard  to  learn  from  a  picture.  That 
is  why  I  have  shown  the  backhand  drive  with  such 
thoroughness  in  this  book. 

Wherever  I  go  throughout  the  world  I  am  asked : 
"How  do  you  hold  your  racket  for  your  backhand 
stroke?"  and  this  is  the  usual  experience  of  nearly 
every  tournament  player. 


92  MODEKN  TENNIS 

Now  I  can  not  personally  show  players  in  Texas, 
New  Zealand,  and  England  how  to  hold  their 
rackets,  but  I  can  do  something  that  is  quite  as 
good.  I  have  had  the  correct  grips,  both  forehand 
and  backhand,  modeled  and  any  player  or  would- 
be  player,  or  any  tennis-club  in  the  world,  can 
have  the  two  backhand  grips  and  the  forehand  grip 
as  permanent  lessons  in  the  foundation  of  the 
game. 

I  intend  to  circulate  them  as  largely  as  I  can 
in  England  in  an  attempt  to  restore  to  players 
there  the  proper  tennis-strokes. 

There  is  a  fundamental  rule  in  all  games  or 
athletic  sports  which  are  played  with  a  ball  and 
a  striking  implement  that  is  absolutely  violated 
by  the  prevalent  method  of  playing  the  backhand 
stroke. 

This  is,  that  at  the  moment  of  striking,  the  shaft 
or  handle  and  the  forearm  shall  be  in  the  same 
line,  or  at  least  in  the  same  plane  of  force,  if  I 
may  use  this  expression. 

The  fact  is  that  to  avoid  waste  of  energy  power 
must  be  exerted  in  one  line  or  in  one  plane. 

This  is  what  happens  in  the  backhand  drive 
advocated  by  me,  where  the  racket  is  never  at  the 
moment  of  striking  in  line  with  the  forearm,  but 
is  always,  in  a  properly  executed  stroke,  in  the 
same  plane  of  force. 

We  must  now  consider  the  stroke  itself. 

Plate  30  shows  the  swing-back  in  the  low  back- 


R.  N.  WILLIAMS  2o — SKKVIXG 

This  is  an  ideal  position  for  serving.  Notice  carefully  weight 
on  right  leg  and  borne  on  toes,  bend  of  right  knee,  right  shoulder 
down,  left  up,  position  of  the  feet  and  the  balance  of  the  arms. 
These  things  give  Williams  his  great  pace. 

NATIONAL  CHAMPION,  l!U4 

PLATE  18 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  93 

hand  drive.  Note  carefully  that  the  body  is  turned 
sidewise  to  the  net,  so  that  in  a  drive  parallel  with 
the  side-lines  the  chest  at  this  point  in  the  stroke 
would  be  almost  parallel  with  the  line  of  flight  of 
the  ball.  Observe  the  position  of  the  feet.  They 
form  approximately  a  right  angle.  The  right  foot 
should  point  almost,  but  not  quite,  in  a  line  with 
the  intended  line  of  flight  of  the  ball.  This  is,  of 
course,  a  rough  statement,  but  any  one  following 
it  will  not  go  far  wrong.  If  one  is  driving  a  ball 
diagonally  across  the  court  one's  chest,  at  the 
moment  of  striking,  would  be  almost  parallel  to 
the  diagonal  of  the  court.  This  makes  the  general 
direction  a  little  clearer,  but  foot-work  is  so  im- 
portant that  I  show  very  clearly  herein,  by  the 
numerous  illustrations  and  by  diagram,  the 
correct  position  for  the  feet  in  the  backhand 
drive.  It  is  fatal  to  attempt  to  play  the  stroke 
facing  the  net,  as  so  many  do.  It  is,  in  this  stroke, 
as,  indeed,  it  is  throughout  the  game  of  tennis 
generally,  of  the  utmost  importance  to  keep  the 
eye  on  the  ball  as  long  as  possible;  indeed,  one 
should  aim  at  watching  it  onto  the  racket. 

Note  carefully  the  position  of  the  feet ;  that  the 
weight  is  mainly  on  the  left  leg,  and,  for  this  is  of 
the  greatest  importance,  see  that  the  beginning  of 
the  stroke  comes  from  the  elbow.  Remember  that 
the  wrist  is  held  firmly  at  all  times  throughout  the 
stroke ;  that,  in  fact,  the  command  must  be  in  the 
wrist. 


94  MODERN  TENNIS 

Plate  31  shows  the  instant  before  impact.  Notice 
again  carefully  the  position  of  the  feet.  Good 
foot-work  is  the  essence  of  the  backhand  drive, 
for  if  the  feet  be  out  of  position  it  is  impossible 
for  one  to  get  the  full  swing  back,  for  one's  chest 
interferes  with  the  arm. 

Observe  the  elbow  pointed  toward  the  net,  the 
back  of  the  arm  from  the  shoulder  to  the  elbow 
turned  upward  and  the  side  of  the  hand  facing  the 
net.  See  also  how  the  weight  has  come  onto  the 
right  foot.  In  gaging  one's  distance  for  this 
stroke  one  should  always,  when  possible,  allow 
room  for  taking  a  short  step  forward  as  one  is 
playing  the  stroke.  This  adds  both  to  the  accuracy 
of  direction  and  the  power  of  the  stroke. 

Plate  32  is  probably  the  best  photograph  of  a 
low  backhand  drive  ever  taken.  Here  we  see  again 
the  foot-work  on  which  so  much  stress  is  laid, 
the  right  foot  pointing  almost  the  way  the  ball  is 
going.  The  ball  is  seen  moving  off  the  "center" 
of  the  racket,  which  is  practically  vertical  at  the 
moment  of  impact,  while  the  arm  and  the  racket- 
handle,  altho  not  in  the  same  straight  line,  are 
clearly  moving  in  the  same  plane  of  force. 

This  drive  is,  without  doubt,  the  most  graceful 
and  effective  stroke  in  the  game.  Curiously, 
photographs  such  as  this  and  the  preceding  plate 
always  look  constrained,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  eye  does  not  catch  the  individual 
pictures  as  does  a  camera.  This  is  exemplified 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  95 

by  the  wonderfully  stiff  positions  shown  in 
motion-pictures  of  a  galloping  horse,  positions 
which  the  human  eye  unaided  would  never  see. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  this  stroke  the  ball  can 
be  met  with  the  full  face  of  the  racket  and  forced 
squarely  back  across  the  net,  altho  it  is  generally 
accompanied  by  some  top  spin.  Observe  that  the 
shock  of  the  blow  falls  on  the  wrist  in  the  direction 
in  which  it  is  practically  incapable  of  bending. 
This  contributes  in  a  marked  degree  to  the  speed 
of  this  stroke,  both  in  volleying  and  ground- 
strokes. 

Plate  33  shows  a  most  important  position  in  the 
drive.  Look  at  the  preceding  plate.  Note  that 
the  thumb  is  behind  the  racket;  notice  also  that 
the  ball  is  taken  much  farther  in  front  of  the  body 
than  in  the  forehand  drive.  Now  see  in  this  plate 
that  the  thumb  is  showing  on  the  near  side  of  the 
racket-handle.  This  means  that  I  am  following- 
through  correctly.  Were  my  thumb  still  under- 
neath the  handle,  or  inclined  to  be  toward  the  far 
side  of  the  racket-handle,  it  would  be  proof  posi- 
tive that  my  stroke  had  been  wrongly  played,  for 
the  follow-through  in  tennis  or  golf  is  the  natural 
result  of  correctly,  or  incorrectly,  performed  ante- 
cedent motions,  and  not  in  itself  of  any  impor- 
tance whatever,  as  is  so  often  and  so  foolishly 
asserted. 

If  I  did  not  allow  my  thumb  to  come  around 
with  the  racket,  following  the  natural  turn  of  my 


96  MODERN  TENNIS 

arm,  I  should  find  myself  locked  on  the  shoulde 
and  unable  to  finish  my  stroke  properly,  thus  in 
terfering  seriously  with  both  its  grace  and  it 
effectiveness. 

Plate  34  shows  the  finish  of  the  drive.  It  wil 
be  seen  that  the  forearm  has  turned  over,  am 
the  thumb  is  consequently  now  riding  on  top  o 
the  racket-handle,  altho,  of  course,  the  hand  ha 
never  for  an  instant  relaxed  its  grip  of  the  handk 

The  grip  in  this  stroke  must  be  very  firm  fror 
start  to  finish.  Altho  the  command  is  in  the  wrisi 
the  stroke  is  played  mainly  from  the  elbow,  wit 
the  forearm-turn,  and  the  swing  from  the  shou' 
der,  assisted  by  the  body-movement.  It  is  as 
tonishing  on  analysis  to  find  how  little  wrist  mov( 
ment  there  is.  At  the  finish  the  wrist  shoul 
be  like  steel;  the  racket-head  should  come  to  res 
without  a  tremor  or  wabble  of  any  kind  and  shoul 
point  in  the  direction  in  which  the  ball  was  ii 
tended  to  go.  Observe  carefully  the  grip  sho^ 
ing  the  leather  at  the  end  of  the  handle  in  the  han 
and  the  thumb  lying  up  the  handle.  This  is  th 
old  grip,  and  I  do  not  believe  there  is  to-day  an 
better  way  of  holding  the  racket  for  the  backhan 
stroke;  but  neither  of  these  matters  is  essentia 
If  a  player  finds  lie  can  make  his  stroke  better  b 
holding  the  racket  farther  up  and  putting  hi 
thumb  around  the  handle  he  may  do  so  after  givin 
the  other  method  a  fair  trial. 

The  backhand  drive  played  in  this  manner  hg 


THOMAS  C.  BUNDY— SERVINC 

This  shows  the  swintflmck   in   Bumly's  effective   Reverse   Ameri- 
can   Service.      Inset    is   the   grip    tor   tills   service    that    i 
for  most  players. 

PLATE  19 


THE   BACKHAND   DRIVE  97 

one  very  great  and  beneficial  characteristic.  It 
naturally  produces  top  spin,  and  not  only  top  spin, 
but,  which  is  of  great  importance,  an  excellently 
regulated  amount  of  it.  There  is  no  other  stroke 
in  the  game  of  which  this  can  be  said. 

The  backhand  chop  when  properly  played  em- 
bodies and  expresses  the  same  principle  as  that 
set  out  here  as  the  fundamental  requisite  in  the 
tennis-stroke. 

There  is  a  great  peculiarity  about  what  one  may 
call  the  psychology  of  this  stroke,  and  that  is  that 
it  inspires  in  those  who  learn  it  unlimited  con- 
fidence on  the  backhand.  I  have  taken  players 
who  were  absolute  "dubs"  on  the  backhand  and 
in  a  few  weeks  had  them  running  around  the  ball 
to  take  it  on  the  backhand.  This  sounds  almost 
like  an  exaggeration,  but  it  is  not. 

Mr.  Pell 's  follow-through  is  very  good ;  indeed, 
his  foot-work,  management  of  his  weight,  and  his 
execution  of  this  stroke  generally  are  worthy  of 
the  attention  and  study  of  the  players  of  the  north- 
ern hemisphere,  for  none  of  them  is  so  good  at 
this  shot  as  Mr.  Pell,  and,  as  I  have  already  said, 
there  is  absolutely  no  reason  why  the  stroke  should 
not  be  learned. 

The  stroke  played  by  Mr.  Pell  and  that  which  I 
am  shown  playing  are  identical.  It  is  the  only 
true  backhand  stroke.  Some  people  think  they  are 
different  strokes.  I  am  illustrating  the  drive  off 
a  low  ball,  Mr.  Pell  the  drive  off  low,  medium,  and 


98  MODEEN  TENNIS 

high  bounds,  and  were  I  to  show  a  drive  off  a  ball 
shoulder  high  or  even  a  backhand  smash  over  my 
left  ear,  it  would  still  be  in  its  fundamental  prin- 
ciples the  same  stroke.  It  covers  the  half  circle 
which  forms  the  backhand  side  wherein  the  racket 
works. 

The  outstanding  blot  on  American  tennis  is 
the  defective  backhand.  If  we  had  among  our 
national  representatives  players  who,  in  addition 
to  their  other  strokes,  were  as  sound  as  Mr.  Pell 
on  the  backhand,  there  is  not  much  doubt  where 
the  Davis  Cup  would  rest  for  a  few  years. 

It  therefore  behooves  aspiring  players  to  take 
advantage  of  the  lessons  contained  in  this  book. 


THE   CHOP 

THE  chop,  frequently  included  in  the  general 
term  "cut,"  is  Number  IV,  that  stroke  which  pro- 
duces vertical  backwardly  rotating  action  as  the 
ball  is  propelled  from  the  racket. 

This  stroke  is  played  by  bringing  the  racket  A  B 
with  its  face  nearly  vertical,  as  shown  at  A  B,  Fig. 
22,  down  the  line  E  F  in  a  forward  and  obliquely 
downward  course,  so  that  in  passing  the  intended 
line  of  flight  C  D  it  meets  the  ball  at  C,  and  by 
reason  of  the  glancing  or  brushing  contact  causes 
the  ball  to  revolve  upwardly  and  backwardly  in  the 
direction  C  G.  This  stroke,  as  its  name  implies,  is 
from  its  very  nature  incapable  of  being  played 
with  a  following-through  action.  The  racket,  after 
hitting  the  ball,  continues  its  downward  course 
until  it  is  suddenly  arrested  quite  near  the  ground. 
Of  course,  with  less  chop  the  stroke  may  be  played 
with  more  forward  movement  of  the  racket. 

This  is  by  no  means  a  popular  stroke,  and  as  the 
staple  of  any  one's  game  is  not  good;  but  in  its 
place  it  is  a  fine  shot,  too  little  understood  and 
played.  There  are  some  who  contend  that  this 
stroke  has  no  virtue  which  its  more  showy  brother, 
the  lifting  drive,  does  not  possess.  I  think  I  shall 
be  able  to  show  that  this  is  not  a  correct  statement. 

The  flight  of  this  ball  is  entirely  different  from 

99 


100 


MODERN  TENNIS 


that  of  a  lifted  drive.  It  springs  away  from  the 
racket,  endeavoring  to  rise  all  the  time,  and  has 
nothing  whatever  of  that  assisted  tendency  to  find 
the  base-line  which  is  the  prominent  and  beneficial 


B 


FIGURE  22 
THE  CHOP 

characteristic  of  the  lift ;  in  fact,  on  the  contrary, 
this  ball  strives  against  gravitation  as  long  as  it 
can,  while  the  other,  once  its  initial  spurt  is 
finished,  does  its  best  to  assist  the  natural  law. 
This  is  most  marked  if  you  happen  to  be  playing 
these  shots  up  into  a  wind.  The  cut  ball  will  get 
on  the  wind  and  sail  gaily  past  the  base-line.  The 
lifted  ball  puts  its  head  down  and  dives  suddenly 
for  the  court. 


P.   A.  VAILE — SERVING 

I  am  here  shown  serving  the  Reverse  American  Service. 
It  is  generally  advisable  to  put  the  ball  more  to  the  right,  as 
shown  in  the  next  plate. 

PLATE  20 


THE   CHOP  101 

There  is  a  great  peculiarity  in  the  contrast  of 
the  flight  of  these  two  balls.  They  each  behave  on 
landing  in  a  manner  which  seems  quite  opposed  to 
mechanical  laws.  The  lifted  ball  should,  from  its 
forward  rotation,  grip  the  ground  and  dart  sud- 
denly forward  very  low,  while  the  cut  ball  should, 
at  the  moment  of  bounding,  on  account  of  its  back- 
ward vertical  rotation,  be  checked  in  its  course, 
and,  if  anything,  break  back.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  opposite  is  the  case  in  all  balls  of  medium  pace 
and  upward.  The  explanation  is  that  the  sudden 
drop  of  the  lifted  ball  causes  it  to  strike  the  ground 
at  a  much  more  obtuse  angle  than  it  seems  to,  and 
thus,  naturally,  it  comes  up  at  something  ap- 
proaching, but,  of  course,  considering  the  forward 
rotation,  not  quite,  the  same  angle  as  that  at  which 
it  struck  the  ground,  whereas  the  chop  comes  over 
the  net  and  strikes  the  ground  at  a  very  acute 
angle  with  lots  of  backward  rotation  on  it.  There 
must  be,  I  think,  an  appreciable  amount  of  what 
engineers  call  "slip" — like  the  engine-wheels  fly- 
ing round  on  the  rail  without  moving  the  engine — 
before  this  ball  grips  the  ground  and  bounds,  and 
then,  of  course,  the  angle  at  which  it  hits  the 
ground  will  be  the  sharper  if  we  take  a  ball  of  each 
kind  played  with  similar  strength  and  length. 

Added  to  this,  if  the  ball  be  played  with  a  little 
drag  as  well  as  cut,  that  is,  if  the  motion  imparted 
to  it  be  a  mixture  of  pure  backward  vertical  rota- 
tion, and  the  left-to-right  horizontal  spin  of  the 


102 


MODEEN  TENNIS 


underhand  service,  it  keeps  low  and  breaks  away 
from  left  to  right  (from  striker's  side)  in  a  most 
uncertain  manner. 

The  chop  or  cut  well  played  is  one  of  the  most 
unpleasant  shots  you  can  have  on  the  backhand, 
for  several  reasons.  You  have  to  calculate  the 


MET 


FIGURE  23 

SHOWING   How   A   CHOPPED   BALL  PLAYED  WITHOUT  FORCE   OR 

CRISPNESS  FINDS  THE  NET  BY  REASON  OF  THE 

BACK  SPIN  ON  IT 

break,  and  correct  that  by  meeting  it  against  the 
angle  at  which  it  will  be  traveling.  Frequently, 
you  can  not  gage  it  exactly,  and  your  racket  finds 
the  ball  later  than  you  intended  it  to,  and  you  put 
the  ball  up  to  your  opponent  at  the  net,  or,  not 
allowing  for  the  backward  rotation  of  the  ball, 
which  immediately  it  grips  your  racket  develops  a 
strong  tendency  to  find  mother  earth,  you  play 


THE   CHOP  103 

with  the  trajectory  you  would  allow  a  plain  ball, 
and  find  your  return  in  the  net.  You  will  under- 
stand what  I  mean  by  a  reference  to  Fig.  23. 

Here  you  will  see  the  ball  passes  over  the  net  in 
the  line  G  A  with  a  large  amount  of  vertical  back- 
ward rotation  from  A  to  B,  and  suddenly  strikes 
the  racket  F  E  at  C.  The  instant  the  backward 
rotation  is  checked  at  C,  the  point  at  D  is  thrown 
violently  down,  and  unless  the  tendency  of  the 
backward  rotation  is  corrected  by  a  sufficiently 
smart  stroke  or  sufficiently  corresponding  cut  to 
that  which  produced  the  rotation  already  on  the 
ball,  it  will  inevitably  find  the  net,  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  line  C  H.  Many  a  time  and  often  have  I 
beaten  the  man  at  the  net  on  this.  He  has  counted 
it  an  easy  low  volley  over  the  net,  and  so  it  would 
have  been  off  a  plain  ball,  but  he  has  made  the 
mistake  common  to  so  many  tennis-players: 
"He  has  not  been  thinking  about  what  the  ball  is 
doing  in  the  air.'*  I  put  this  as  a  quotation.  It 
is  of  vast  importance.  You  must  think  what  the 
ball  is  doing  in  the  air  every  time.  It  is  no  worry 
to  do  this.  It  is  one  of  the  pleasures  of  the  game, 
and  will  come  quite  naturally  in  time. 

As  you  see  a  billiard-ball  running  round  the 
table  you  watch  it  and  calculate  that  it  has  not 
enough  side,  or  has  too  much  side,  or  that  possibly 
it  has  the  wrong  side.  It  is  no  trouble.  Do  you 
ever  do  the  same  at  tennis  ? 

To  me  one  of  the  chief  delights  of  tennis  is 


104  MODEEN  TENNIS 

to  beat  my  opponent  by  head-work.  It  is  astonish- 
ing what  a  little  thing  will  win  the  match  for  you, 
and,  apropos  of  the  cut,  you  will,  perhaps,  excuse 
me  if  I  inflict  a  little  tale  on  you  here. 

I  had  not  played  for  some  time  when  I  was  sud- 
denly called  on  to  meet  an  old  opponent,  a  man 
whom  it  was  always  a  pleasure  to  meet,  for  he 
"kept  me  guessing"  the  whole  time.  The  first  set 
he  played  a  great  game,  ran  in  on  me,  and 
smothered  everything  with  fine  cross-court  volleys 
which  skimmed  the  net  continually.  He  was  just 
missing  the  duck,  and  playing  very  accurately  and 
confidently.  I  changed  my  tactics  next  set,  and, 
when  prest,  time  and  again  drove,  and  chopped 
hard  and  low,  at  his  middle,  both  good  shots  when 
you  can  not  get  away  from  the  net-man's  atten- 
tions. I  was  much  interested  to  note  how  many  of 
the  chopped  balls  found  the  net,  and  thereafter  I 
had  not  much  trouble.  Now,  you  must  understand, 
a  champion  would,  perhaps,  have  considered  why 
is  this  thus,  and  have  acted  accordingly,  but  you 
may  accept  it  as  an  indisputable  fact  that  many  of 
them  do  not  think  enough,  and  that  their  execution 
of  strokes  is  much  above  their  knowledge  of  the 
game. 

In  returning  a  chopped  ball  with  a  lifting  drive 
it  must  be  remembered  that  you  are  about  to  ac- 
centuate the  rotation.  In  the  matter  of  rotation, 
similar  strokes  check  the  spin,  dissimilar  accen- 
tuate it.  It  will  be  apparent,  then,  to  a  very  or- 


THE   CHOP  105 

dinary  understanding  that  in  " lifting"  a  chopped 
ball,  allowance  must  be  made,  for  (speaking  from 
the  striker-out's  side)  it  already  has  a  large 
amount  of  forward  vertical  rotation,  and  if  he 
puts  the  same  amount  of  lift  into  his  stroke  that 
he  would  were  he  dealing  with  a  plain  ball  in- 


Ordinary  plain-face  drive  without  rotation,  showing  even  and 
symmetrical  flight  of  ball,  and  bound  thereof. 


Drive  with  lift  or  forward  vertical  rotation,  showing  sudden 
drop  at  base-line  when  initial  force  weakens,  also  bound  with 
rotation  still  asserting  its  influence. 


The  chop  (usually  played  on  a  fairly  high-bounding  ball),  show- 
ing peculiar  straight  flight  due  to  backward  vertical  rotation,  also 
peculiar  shooting  bound. 

FIGURE  24 

tended  just  to  escape  the  net,  he  will  inevitably 
turn  the  chopped  ball  down  into  the  net. 

The  cut  or  chop  can  be  most  effectively  played 
on  a  high-bounding  ball,  and  for  a  straight  passing 
shot  down  your  opponent's  backhand  off  such  a 
ball  it  is  hard  to  beat,  also  it  is  a  very  nice  shot  to 
go  up  on,  and  there  are  lots  of  contingencies  about 
it;  but  mind  you  don't  get  too  fond  of  it. 

Figure  24  is  a  comparison  of  the  flight  and 
bound  of  the  ordinary  plain-faced  drive  without 
rotation,  the  drive  with  lift,  and  the  chop  or  cut. 


THE   LOB 

I  THINK  the  question  of  straight  dropping  lobs 
is  worthy  of  a  little  further  consideration.  Sup- 
posing you  are  near  the  base-line,  and  a  very  high 
lob  is  dropping  straight  down  to  you.  It  will,  by 
the  time  it  reaches  you,  have  acquired  quite  a  con- 
siderable impetus.  Of  course,  few,  if  any,  lobs 
drop  absolutely  straight  down,  but  I  am,  for  argu- 
ment's sake,  imagining  such  a  one.  You  are  wait- 
ing for  this.  To  play  your  shot  perfectly,  you 
must  hit  that  ball  on  a  little  piece  in  the  middle  of 
your  racket  no  bigger  than,  if,  indeed,  as  large  as, 
the  palm  of  your  hand.  Has  it  ever  occurred  to 
you  to  wonder  what  infinitesimal  portion  of  a 
second  there  is  within  which  that  stroke  can  be 
properly  played?  If  your  racket-head  be  inclined 
forwardly  and  downwardly  as  you  strike  the  ball, 
you  can  see  how  hopeless  it  will  be  to  make  a  good 
shot.  I  can  not  impress  upon  you  too  forcibly 
that  to  smash  well  you  must  get  well  under  your 
work.  One  of  the  chief  faults  with  the  service  of 
many  beginners  is  that  they  throw  the  ball  up  too 
far  in  front  of  them  and,  naturally  enough,  smite 
it  into  the  net.  So  little  is  the  time  that  you 
actually  have  for  making  the  stroke,  and  so  great 
the  downward  impetus,  that  many  players  un- 
consciously correct  the  falling  tendency,  and  give 

106 


THE   LOB  107 

themselves  a  little  more  margin  of  time  in  which 
to  play  the  shot  by  standing  in  under  the  ball  a 
little  further  than  is  advisable  for  a  severe  smash, 
and  playing  the  shot  with  the  head  of  the  racket 
further  back  than  the  wrist,  so  that  the  blade  lies 
back  at  an  angle  which  allows  the  ball  to  fall  on 


X 

•of" 


FIGURE  25 

SHOWING  FLIGHT  OP  CUT  LOB  (a)  BEING  SMASHED  AT  E, 

(6)  BOUNDING  AT  H 

A,  F,  H — Imaginary  continuance  of  flight. 
H — Ball  and  point  of  contact  with  earth.    Eotation  E  G  assert- 
ing itself  and  producing  bound  H  G,  or  modified  form  thereof. 

to  the  face  of  it  at  a  very  sharp  angle.  There  is 
the  quick-dropping  ball,  which  has  to  be  judged 
from,  say,  ninety  feet — I  have  seen  a  Yankee 
"sky-scraper"  so  high — and  your  swiftly  wielded 
racket  traveling  at  right  angles  to  each  other  to 
meet  practically  exactly  where  you  intend  them  to. 
You  may  accept  my  word  for  it  that  smashing  lobs 
requires  practise,  and  should  get  it.  Try  to 
imagine  yourself  playing  this  shot  with  a  racket 
having  a  blade  four  inches  in  diameter  and  a 
handle  eighteen  inches  long.  This  is  what  you 
practically  do  every  time  you  make  a  perfect 


108  MODERN  TENNIS 

smash.  A  consideration  of  these  statements,  an 
a  glance  at  the  accompanying  Fig.  25  on  the  sul 
ject,  will  show  you  the  importance  of  making  yor 
lobs  drop  straight,  if  there  is  any  chance  of  yoi 
opponents  getting  at  them. 

The  peculiar  flight  of  the  lob  shown  is  give 
with  the  object  of  drawing  attention  to  the  sudde 
and  straight  drop  of  cut  lobs.  It  would  almoi 
seem  that  directly  the  initial  force  is  expended, 
cut  lob  should  drop  straighter  than  a  lifted  on 
and  it  is  certainly  a  safer  shot  so  far  as  presei 
developments  are  concerned,  but  a  lifted  lob  is 
shot  I  have  never  seen  designedly  played,  where* 
cut  lobs  are  common.  With  a  cut  lob  it  must  n< 
be  forgotten  that  in  addition  to  dropping  dea 
and  having  acquired  downward  impetus,  it  is  r 
volving  backwardly  toward  the  net  and  away  fro 
him  who  is  going  to  play  it  (E,  G,  Fig.  25),  so  th 
the  moment  his  racket  grips  it  at  E,  a  third  for< 
which  is  fighting  in  favor  of  the  lobber  is  call* 
into  being,  for  the  instant  the  backward  rotatic 
is  checked  by  the  impact  of  the  racket  on  that  sic 
of  the  ball  nearer  the  volleyer  at  E,  the  other  sk 
at  G  strives  all  it  can  to  run  down  the  racket.  ( 
course,  it  can  not  do  it  if  the  volley  is  well  playe 
but  many  a  time  have  I  smiled  to  myself,  as  I  ha1! 
seen  the  man  at  the  net  trust  his  racket  to  retui 
a  shot  of  mine  which  would  have  infallibly  con 
back  off  the  same  stroke  if  the  ball  had  not  bee 
rotating  backwardly,  but  as  the  ball  had  bee 


P.  A.  VAILE — SERVING 

This  plate  shows  the  next  stage  in  the  Reverse  American 
Service.  In  this  case  the  wrist  is  being  used  very  loosely,  altho 
the  grip  of  the  racket  is  (inn. 

PLATE  21 


THE   LOB  109 

allowed  to  strike  the  racket,  instead  of  the  racket 
striking  it,  it  had  simply  gripped  it,  curled  about 
on  its  face  momentarily,  and  fallen  down.  I  re- 
peat, you  must  deal  determinedly  with  a  ball 
which  is  rotating  considerably. 

Remember,  then,  that  when  you  put  up  a  good, 
straight-dropping  cut  lob  you  have  three  good 
allies  fighting  for  you : 

1.  The  difficulty  of  timing. 

2.  The  acquired  downward  impetus. 

3.  The  accentuated  downward  rotation  which 
comes  into  play  the  moment  the  ball  is  struck. 

And,  remember,  when  it  is  tossed  up  to  you, 
that  they  are  all  there,  and  get  out  of  your  head 
any  idea  of  hitting  it  downward.  If  you  con- 
sistently aim  for  three  feet  over  the  net  you  will 
miss  fewer  than  you  do  now.  Think  of  this.  How 
often,  in  proportion  to  the  number  which  go  into 
the  net,  do  you  see  smashed  lobs  go  beyond  the 
base-line?  There  must  be  a  reason.  If  you  can 
find  better  ones  I  shall  be  interested. 

Added  to  this  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
average  player  is  thinking  too  much  about  the  net 
and  the  man  at  it.  His  idea,  if  his  tennis-intellect 
were  cultivated  to  the  utmost,  would  be,  "What 
is  the  angle  from  the  face  of  my  racket  to  the  base- 
line?" 

The  backhand  lobs,  it  is  almost  needless  to  say, 
are  played  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  back- 
hand stroke,  with,  of  course,  the  difference  of  ele- 


110  MODERN  TENNIS 

vation.  I  find  that  I  can  lob  with  great  accuracy, 
particularly  across  the  court,  by  getting  well  under 
the  ball  and  putting  a  fair  amount  of  backhand 
cut  on  it.  This  ball  nearly  always  deceives  who- 
ever is  chasing  it.  Forehand  cut  on  a  lob  is  fre- 
quently mere  backward  rotation,  and  so  does  not 
make  the  ball  break  so  much  as  backhand,  which, 
in  my  stroke,  is  nearly  horizontal  action.  If  you 
use  the  backhand  cut,  lob  down  the  middle, 
especially  if  it  is  blowing,  for,  otherwise,  if  the 
wind  comes  from  your  forehand  side  it  will  accen- 
tuate the  natural  curl  of  your  stroke  and  carry 
the  ball  out  of  court. 


THE   VOLLEY 

I  HAVE  already  dealt  fairly  fully  with  the  vol- 
ley, so  that  it  practically  only  remains  for  me 
here  to  discuss  the  effect  and  advantages  of  those 
strokes  which  impart  spin  or  work  to  the  ball. 

Both  services,  the  forehand  cut,  and  the  reverse 
overhead,  make  splendid  volleys  for  two  rea- 
sons: first,  the  grip  which  one  gets  on  the  ball 
gives  one  a  greater  certainty  in  placing  the  ball; 
and,  second,  the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball  being 
influenced  merely  by  the  angle  at  which  the  face  of 
one's  racket  hits  it  at  the  last  moment,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  anticipate  correctly  its  flight,  and 
moreover,  from  its  spin,  which  in  a  severe  stroke 
is  considerable,  the  bound  will  be  low  and  erratic, 
and  render  a  safe  return, — even  if  the  ball  be 
reached, — problematical.  Up  till  the  very  moment 
of  striking,  it  may  look  as  if  you  intended  to 
smash  the  ball  back  to  the  base-line,  when,  at  the 
last  fraction  of  a  second,  your  blade  turns,  and  the 
ball  flies  on  to  the  side-line,  between  the  service- 
line  and  the  net. 

For  many  volleys  at  the  net  the  cut  is  advan- 
tageous, especially  if  you  want  to  drop  a  ball 
short,  and,  indeed,  I  never  advise  playing  a  ball 
off  the  ground  by  a  tap  with  the  plain  face.  It  is 
more  certain,  as  a  general  rule,  to  cut  it  over  if 

111 


112  MODERN  TENNIS 

you  want  to  drop  it  short,  and  it  gives  the  op- 
posing side  less  time  to  reach  it. 

Altho  one  rarely  sees  them  used,  the  forehand 
and  backhand  lifting  drives  make  beautiful  and 
effective  volleys  when  the  ball  comes  to  hand  at  a 
suitable  elevation,  and  the  return  can  be  played  so 
sharply  across  court  as  to  be  almost  a  certain 
score.  I  have  seen  some  of  the  American  players 
make  these  shots  splendidly.  They  are  well  worth 
trying,  as  the  would-be  champion  can  not  know 
too  much.  One  of  England's  foremost  players, 
who  never  volleys  unless  he  can  not  help  himself, 
when  forced  to  do  so,  plays  a  fierce  and  effective 
forehand  volley  of  this  description. 

I  would  lay  it  down  as  a  general  rule  that  you 
should  not  volley  straight  down  the  court,  but, 
rather,  cut  it  off  at  an  angle.  As  in  everything 
else,  however,  you  must  be  guided  by  circum- 
stances, and  you  should  remember  that  you  must 
not  go  seeking  the  side-lines  when  you  can  win 
with  a  yard  to  spare;  and  again,  do  not  bother 
about  making  ferocious  gallery  smashes  where 
force  is  unnecessary,  for  you  are  only  making 
your  opponent  a  present  of  so  much  energy.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  he  picks  up  one  of  your  "pats," 
which  you  should  have  "  murdered, "  I  shall  be  the 
last  to  say  an  extenuating  word  in  your  favor. 

Many  volleys  are  killed  by  pure  pace,  others 
are  smashed  hard  on  to  the  ground  with  such  force 
that  the  bound  carries  them  beyond  your  oppo- 


THOMAS  C.  BUNDY— SERVING 

This  shows  Bundy  at  the  moment  of  impact,  siiul  is  :i   valuable 
lesson  In  the  production  of  this  service. 

PLATE  22 


THE   VOLLEY  113 

nent's  reach.  It  is  necessary  to  consider  that  you 
mean  to  hit  this  latter  kind  of  volley  down  into 
the  court.  Don't  trust  to  gravitation  and  acquired 
impetus  for  this  shot.  Eemember  that  if  you  mean 
to  make  an  effective  smash  you  must  call  upon 
your  body  to  assist  you  and  throw  your  weight 
into  the  stroke. 


THE  MODERN  SERVICE 

THERE  can  be  little  doubt  that  modern  tennis  is 
too  much  service  and  not  enough  play.  That  is 
a  peculiar  way  of  expressing  it.  An  old  baseball- 
player  put  it  another  way.  He  said :  1 1  Tennis  is 
now  very  much  like  baseball — all  pitcher,"  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  "pitcher" — or 
server — occupies  a  totally  disproportionate  place 
in  the  game. 

The  service  was  originally  more  the  means  of 
putting  the  ball  in  play  than  a  branch  of  forcing 
offensive  tactics,  and  in  the  early  days  of  the  game 
it  was  not  the  tremendous  advantage  that  it  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  a  first-class  player. 

At  the  last  Davis  Cup  contest  there  was  a  re- 
markable exhibition  of  the  preponderance  of  the 
service  in  the  modern  game.  Those  who  saw  the 
memorable  match  between  Norman  E.  Brookes 
and  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin,  will  remember  that 
it  was  not  until  the  thirty-first  game  that 
McLoughlin  succeeded  in  breaking  through  his 
opponent's  service  and  then  winning  his  own  serv- 
ice and  the  set  at  17-15.  For  thirty  games  these 
two  fine  players  had  alternately  won  the  service. 

Many  people  thought  that  this  was  a  great 
tennis-match.  It  did  not  seem  so  to  me.  It  was 
the  most  wonderful  service  duel  that  I  ever  saw — 
or  expect  to  see;  but  it  demonstrated  beyond  a 

114 


THE   MODERN   SERVICE  115 

doubt  that  the  service  will  soon  have  to  be  regu- 
lated in  some  manner,  otherwise  its  preponderance 
will  ruin  the  game.  I  foresaw  this  when  this 
book  was  first  published.  I  then  suggested  that 
in  time  the  measurements  of  the  court  would  have 
to  be  altered  to  suit  the  development  of  the  game. 

The  service  would  not  be  such  a  tremendous 
advantage  as  it  is  if  the  foot-fault  umpires  were 
courageous  and  able  enough  to  see  that  the  rules 
of  the  game  were  observed.  In  England,  the  duty 
of  calling  foot-faults  is  supposed,  and  rightly  so, 
to  devolve  on  the  base-linesman  at  each  end.  In 
America  they  have  a  special  peripatetic  umpire 
who  calls — or  otherwise — the  faults  at  both  ends. 

In  writing  of  the  modern  service,  I  am  afraid 
that  I  can  not  help  being  severe.  It  is  in  many 
cases  quite  unfair,  which  makes  it  impossible  to 
yield  one's  tribute  of  admiration  to  many  very 
fine  performances,  for  a  game  that  is  founded  on 
irregularity  can  not  be  regarded  so  highly  as  it 
would  be  were  it  perfectly  legitimate. 

There  are  so  many  well-known  players  whose 
delivery  is  quite  unfair  that  I  have  no  intention 
of  even  attempting  to  name  them  all.  Some  of 
them  I  shall  refer  to.  Many  of  them  obtain  a 
most  unfair  advantage  from  their  methods. 
Others,  who  infringe  the  rules  regularly,  are 
merely  technical  offenders  and  obtain  no  benefit 
from  their  breach,  but  the  breach  should  not  be 
made.  A  rule  is  a  rule,  and  the  game  ceases  to 


116  MODERN  TENNIS 

be  the  game  when  players  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  right  to  act  in  a  manner  which  is  inconsistent 
with  the  laws. 

I  can  not  put  it  more  strongly  than  W.  A.  Lamed 
once  did.  I  was  foot-fault  judge  at  an  important 
tournament  near  New  York,  and  I  had  dealt  firmly 
with  two  well-known  offenders.  It  appears  that 
Larned  had  been  watching  my  * '  calling. ' '  After 
the  match  the  winner  was  talking  about  my  um- 
piring, as  players  always  will  talk  when  they  are 
called  for  delivering  an  unfair  service. 

Larned  "chipped  in"  so  that  he  could  be  heard 
all  over  the  piazza,  saying:  "And  Vaile  didn't 
call  one  that  wasn't  a  foot-fault.  Look  here 
'Jones' — let  us  say — have  you  ever  realized  that 
if  you  are  playing  a  man  on  a  bet  you  are  trying  to 
cheat  him  out  of  his  money?" 

Now  "Jones"  did  not  like  this  very  much.  It 
sounds  bald  and  crude,  but  it  is  the  fact. 

Players  are  much  to  blame  for  the  lax  adminis- 
tration of  the  laws  in  this  respect.  They  are  nearly 
always  rude  when  they  are  made  to  play  fairly. 
This  does  not  apply  only  to  America.  Stealing 
four  feet  on  the  run  up  to  the  net  is  part  of  many 
players'  tactics  in  England.  It  is  an  unpleasant 
thing  to  say,  but  it  is  only  the  truth.  Now  it  is 
getting  just  as  bad  here.  Some  one  has  to  deal 
with  the  matter.  It  simply  must  be  done  in  the 
interests  of  the  game.  I  should  not  do  it  now 
unless  I  had  been  specially  requested  to  do  so. 


> 


P.  A.  VAILE — SERVING 

The  impact  In  the  Reverse  American  Service.  This  is  prac- 
tically a  front  view  of  the  position  shown  in  I  he  preceding  plate 
of  Mr.  Bundy,  whose  grip  is  slightly  different  from  mine.  Note 
that  the  ball  is  hit  as  the  racket  is  ascendini:. 

PLATE  23 


THE   MODERN   SERVICE  117 

It  is  not  necessary  to  foot-fault.  The  best 
players  rarely  do  it,  unless  they  want  to  get  a  fly- 
ing start ! 

When  Brookes  was  playing  Lamed  in  the  bye 
of  the  Davis  Cup  at  Queen's  Club,  London,  some 
years  ago,  I  was  on  one  of  the  base-lines.  The 
famous  referee,  the  late  B.  C.  Evelegh,  tennis 
editor  of  The  Field,  asked  me  to  take  the  line. 

"Certainly,"  I  said,  "I  shall  be  glad  to";  and 
I  added:  "There's  nothing  depending  on  this 
match,  and  so  I  don't  care  how  I  put  them  off  their 
game.  I'll  call  every  semblance  of  a  foot-fault." 

"Right.     Do !"  he  said;  and  I  went  on. 

Lamed  beat  Brookes  in  three  sets  and  I  did  not 
call  a  foot-fault. 

Evelegh  came  to  me  afterward  and  said:  "Why 
didn't  you  call  the  foot-faults?" 

"For  a  most  excellent  reason,"  I  replied. 
"There  were  none  to  call." 

"That's  right,"  said  Evelegh.    "I  was  watch- 

« 

ing  them  with  you." 

Brookes  and  Lamed  were  within  an  inch  or  two 
of  foot-faulting  all  the  time,  but  neither  of  them 
served  an  unfair  ball.  It  should  be  part  of  a  good 
player's  education  to  time  his  delivery  so  that  it 
is  fair. 

H.  L.  Doherty  was  another  very  fair  server.  I 
only  foot-faulted  him  once.  Judging  by  the  * '  Ooh- 
h-h"  that  ran  around  the  gallery  at  Queen's  it  had 
not  happened  frequently  before.  I  never  heard 


118  MODERN  TENNIS 

of  him  being  faulted,  nor  did  I  ever  see  him  making 
foot-faults. 

Wilding,  on  the  other  hand,  was  in  the  habit  of 
making  a  wide  variety  of  foot-faults  frequently. 
If  Wilding  saw  me  on  a  line  in  a  double  he  would 
always  choose  the  other  end  to  serve  from.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  heard  to  say  to  his  partner, 
"Let  me  have  this  end,  I  want  to  dodge  Vaile." 

I  believe  I  am  responsible  for  the  peculiar  way 
Wilding  stands  off  the  base-line,  about  a  yard 
behind  it. 

It  was  at  Queen's  Club,  London,  in  the  Covered 
Courts  championship,  and  I  had  pulled  him  up 
again  and  again  for  bolting  over  the  line  before 
the  ball  had  left  his  racket. 

Wilding  thought  he  would  show  the  gallery  what 
"silly  nonsense"  all  this  foot-faulting  was,  "don't 
you  know!"  He  deliberately  stood  back  about 
four  feet,  reached  out  with  his  racket  and  touched 
the  base-line,  then  looked  at  me  as  much  as  to  say: 
"See  where  I  am?"  After  this  performance  he 
served. 

The  ball  hadn't  left  his  racket  before  I  called 
like  a  pistol-crack,  "Fault."  Wilding  had  not 
moved  forward  more  than  a  few  inches. 

He  looked  at  me  and  then  said  in  his  funny,  muf- 
fled way,  "How  can  it  be  a  fault?  I'm  nowhere 
near  the  line. ' ' 

I  replied,  promptly:  "I  didn't  say  you  were, 
Mr.  Wilding ;  but  you  must  not  jump  when  you  are 


THE   MODERN  'SERVICE  119 

serving;  both  your  feet  were  off  the  floor."  And 
what  laugh  there  was  wasn't  in  the  place  that 
Wilding  had  calculated. 

I  am  mentioning  some  of  these  cases  that  seem 
interesting  to  me,  because  I  think  a  determined 
effort  should  be  made  to  put  down  the  habit,  and 
to  uphold  umpires  who  ably  and  conscientiously 
do  their  duty.  Most  people  try  to  avoid  what 
has  come  to  be  looked  on  as  a  thankless  and  un- 
pleasant task.  I  think  it  would  assist  a  good  deal 
in  weeding  out  the  abuse  if  the  infringement  were 
called  "Foul."  Nobody  desires  to  uphold  a  foul. 
Not  one  player  in  ten  knows  what  constitutes  a 
foot-fault.  I  foot-faulted  a  player — an  ex-cham- 
pion— in  the  center  court  at  Newport  a  year  or 
two  ago.  He  "roared" — as  they  always  do — and 
would  have  made  it  very  uncomfortable  for  many 
people. 

I  merely  said,  "Don't  worry  about  him.  He's 
all  right.  He'll  apologize  twice  within  a  fort- 
night." And  he  did.  The  trouble  is  that  not 
everybody  is  so  oblivious  to  public  opinion  as  I 
am  when  I  know  I  am  right,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  it  is  becoming  increasingly  hard  to  obtain 
competent  foot-fault  umpires  and  linesmen. 

On  the  second — or  third — occasion  when  my 
irascible  Newport  friend  apologized  to  me  I  said, 
"Now,  forget  shout  it.  Suppose,  instead  of  my 
making  you  play  fairly,  a  volcano  had  opened  up 
and  swallowed  you  and  me  and  all  those  people 


120  MODERN  TENNIS 

making  a  noise  in  the  stand,  we  never  should  have 
been  missed,  so  what  you  and  I  did  wasn't  oi 
much  importance  really,  was  it  f  Now  let  me  sho\* 
you  what  you  did."  And  I  did  so. 

"But  that  isn't  a  foot-fault,  is  it?"  he  said. 

"Oh  yes,  it  is,"  I  replied,  "and  you  make  il 
quite  often.  You  don't  get  much,  if  any,  advan- 
tage from  it,  it's  true,  but  if  I  am  calling  youi 
opponent  strictly  I  can  not  let  you  go  on  infringing 
the  rules." 

But  his  opponent,  whom  I  had  called  ten  times 
was  getting  an  advantage  from  his  breaches  of  the 
rules.  He  was  running  in  on  his  service,  and  was 
getting  a  foot  or  two  over  the  line  before  he  hil 
the  ball.  This  is  what  McLoughlin  and  manj 
other  players  habitually  do. 

McLoughlin  has  had  his  attention  called  to  this 
He  maintains,  and  rightly,  too,  that  he  is  entitlec 
to  consider  his  service  fair  unless  the  foot-faul1 
umpire  calls  him.  The  trouble  is  that  so  few  um 
pires  are  game  to  do  their  duty.  It  is  mosl 
amusing  to  hear  the  apologetic  manner  in  whicl 
they  say  "Fault."  If,  instead  of  this,  one  hearc 
coming,  like  the  crack  of  a  revolver, '  *  Foul ! "  I  an 
sure  it  would  have  a  salutary  effect. 

I  must  speak  plainly  about  McLoughlin 's  serv- 
ice. In  my  opinion  it  is  very  unfair.  His  righi 
foot  is,  in  an  important  match,  generally  over  th< 
line  long  before  he  hits  the  ball. 

He  could  not  get  his  great  speed  of  service  anc 


-    V 

£  i 


5    a  5 

s    §  > 

W    S  S 

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d   a 

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H  jr 


THE  MODERN   SERVICE  121 

run  up,  unless  this  were  so.  I  have  hesitated  long 
before  I  put  this  on  record,  and  only  do  so  now 
under  pressure  and  the  most  absolute  conviction 
of  its  justice  and  necessity.  Many  tennis  players 
know  that  this  is  my  opinion.  At  the  last  cham- 
pionship at  Newport,  McLoughlin,  during  his 
match  with  Williams,  was  foot-faulted  eight  times 
in  the  three  sets. 

In  twenty  years'  experience  of  the  game  I  have 
never  heard  a  player  of  his  class  " called"  so 
often.  I  can  not  call  to  mind  a  case  of  one  being 
''called"  half  as  many  times  in  one  match.  I  did 
not  see  this  match,  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
being  held  to  the  base-line  was  enough  to  turn  the 
scales  against  McLoughlin.  The  umpire  who 
called  him  is  a  competent  and  fair  judge,  now  the 
President  of  the  West  Side  Tennis  Club. 

The  practise  is  a  great  and  growing  evil,  a 
menace  to  the  game,  and,  moreover,  it  robs  it  of 
much  of  its  interest.  I  will  not  permit  a  man 
to  do  it  against  me  in  a  friendly  game.  Certainly 
one  does  not  often  have  to  put  up  with  it  there,  but 
I  have  directed  a  man's  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  right  place  for  his  shoes  is  outside  the  court 
until  the  ball  is  on  its  way. 

McLoughlin  not  only  gets  the  advantage  of  his 
terrific  speed  from  being  allowed  the  free  plunge 
of  his  right  side  onto  the  ball,  but  he  gets  such  a 
flying  start  for  the  net  that  he  can  get  almost  on 
top  of  it  for  the  return.  Six  inches  often  mean 


122  MODERN  TENNIS 

the  difference  between  a  killing  downward  or 
cross-court  volley,  and  an  upward  stroke  fighting 
for  position  on  the  next  return;  but  if  one  can 
annex  six  feet  it  is  turning  the  game  of  tennis  into 
something  not  contemplated  by  the  laws. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  doubt  that  the  chief  de- 
velopment of  modern  tennis  is  the  American  serv- 
ice. It  was  in  1904,  in  the  first  edition  of  ' '  Modern 
Tennis,"  that  I  pointed  out  that  this  would  be  so, 
and  explained  for  the  benefit  of  English  players 
most  clearly  how  this  valuable  service  was  pro- 
duced. I  well  remember  that  in  those  days  it 
was  considered  that  I  attached  far  too  much  im- 
portance to  the  spin  of  the  ball.  The  English  idea 
of  tennis  is  to  waft  the  ball  continually  back  and 
forth  across  the  net  until  the  other  man  misses  it, 
and  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  work  on  the  ball. 
This  follows  almost  naturally  from  the  extremely 
defective  grip  of  the  racket  which  is  used  by  nearly 
all  English  players. 

In  this  same  year,  1904,  at  the  East  Croydon 
Tournament,  the  president  of  the  All  England 
Lawn-Tennis  Club  came  to  me  and,  with  a  delight- 
fully patronizing  smile,  said:  "Don't  you  think, 
Mr.  Vaile,  that  this  American  service  idea  is  thor- 
oughly exploded?"  I  assured  him  that,  on  the 
contrary,  it  had  not  begun  to  be  understood  by 
Englishmen ;  and  that  as  they  did  not  know  either 
the  theory  or  the  practise  of  the  stroke,  it  was 
somewhat  premature  to  talk  about  it  being  ex- 
ploded. 


THE   MODERN   SERVICE  123 

English  players  know  now  the  tremendous  in- 
fluence which  spin  has  on  the  flight  and  bound  of 
the  ball,  and  they  are  making  an  endeavor  to 
obtain  the  benefits  which  arise  from  imparting 
spin  to  the  ball;  but  their  defective  hold  of  the 
racket  absolutely  prevents  them  from  getting 
many  of  the  best  strokes  in  the  game. 

No  player  who  produces  his  strokes  on  the  lines 
of  the  English  or  Continental  players  can  ever 
hope  to  be  consistently  accurate  against  a  power- 
ful opponent. 

We  had  a  most  remarkable  illustration  of  this 
recently  in  the  Davis  Cup  Contest,  when  a  bril- 
liant young  player  who  was  opposed  to  two  play- 
ers who  in  the  main  produce  their  strokes  soundly, 
showed  how  extremely  erratic  it  was  possible  for 
one  who  uses  these  methods  to  be.  I  am  referring 
here  to  the  English  method  of  stroke-production, 
because,  generally  speaking,  it  is  useless  for  deal- 
ing with  the  best  class  of  modern  service. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  American 
service  is  that  it  is  produced  by  forward  or  over 
spin,  that  is  to  say,  the  ball  is  dispatched  from 
the  server  to  the  receiver,  spinning  toward  the 
receiver.  Sometimes  this  spin  is  a  pure  forward 
spin,  which  means  spin  about  a  horizontal  axis. 
This  gives  the  ball  a  very  sudden  dip  in  its  flight 
before  it  strikes  in  the  court,  and  a  very  high  and 
long  bound,  and  is  in  itself  a  good  service,  but  this 
can  not  strictly  be  called  the  American  service.  It 


124  MODERN  TENNIS 

is  more  properly  called  the  lifting  service,  and 
may  be  played  both  forehanded  and  with  the  re- 
verse action.  To  get  the  American  service  the 
spin,  instead  of  being  a  pure  forward  spin,  must 
be  forward  and  top  spin,  which  lies  over  at  an 
angle  of  roughly  45  degrees.  Perhaps  it  will  make 
my  explanation  clearer  if  I  say  that  the  spin  of 
the  American  service  is  forward  spin  about  an  axis 
which  lies  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees.  The  result 
of  this  "tilt"  of  the  axis  of  the  spin  is  that  the  ball 
swerves  from  right  to  left  of  the  server,  and  bounds 
from  left  to  right.  I  am  still  speaking  from  the 
server's  side  of  the  net  and  of  a  right-handed 
player. 

Now,  as  the  receiver,  when  I  see  the  American 
service  coming  to  me,  I  note  that  it  swerves  from 
my  left  to  my  right,  and  in  ordinary  circumstances 
I  should  assume  that  the  break  of  the  ball  would 
continue  in  the  direction  of  the  flight,  but  it  does 
nothing  of  the  sort.  Immediately  it  hits  the  earth, 
it  breaks  back  from  my  right  to  my  left. 

This  was  a  very  great  puzzle  to  English  players 
until  I  explained  the  reason,  which  is  really  simple 
enough. 

All  spinning  things  strive  very  hard  to  stay  in 
the  plane  of  their  rotation.  That  is  what  makes 
the  'spinning  top  stand  up  and  "go  to  sleep."  So 
it  is  with  the  American  service ;  the  ball  is  spinning 
in  a  plane  which  lies  over  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees, 
and  when  it  strikes  the  earth,  it  strives  very  hard 


THE   MODERN    SERVICE  125 

to  stay  in  the  plane  of  its  rotation.  Simply  put, 
that  is  the  reason  for  the  apparently  erratic  bound 
of  the  American  service. 

There  is  a  quality  in  the  American  service  which 
has,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  never  been  referred  to 
in  any  published  book  on  the  game,  that  is  the 
tremendous  amount  of  swerve  which  there  is  in 
the  bound  of  the  ball.  The  ball  on  striking  the 
earth  breaks  in  an  unusual  manner  and  swerves 
in  its  break  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  any  other 
ball  that  I  know.  The  consequence  is  that  un- 
less a  player  watches  the  ball  almost  until  it  is 
on  his  racket — for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  nobody 
watches  the  ball  onto  his  racket,  nor  indeed  as 
near  to  it  as  he  should — he  will  have  many  ''wood 
strokes." 

I  do  not  propose  to  deal  at  length  with  the  return 
of  the  American  service.  Briefly,  I  may  say  that 
the  bound  of  the  ball  should  be  well  covered  by  the 
face  of  the  racket,  that  is  to  say,  that  if  the  ball  is 
rising,  the  face  of  the  racket  must  be  inclined  to- 
ward the  net,  for  it  is  obvious  that  in  playing  a 
rising  ball  with  top  spin,  if  one  simply  meets  it 
with  the  vertical  face,  the  result  would  be  an  out, 
probably  over  the  base-line.  It  is  practically  use- 
less to  attempt  to  deal  gently  with  any  variety  of 
the  American  service,  except,  perhaps,  by  covering 
the  bound  and  popping  it  at  the  feet  of  one's  oppo- 
nent, which  is  a  very  good  method  of  return, 
unless  the  opposing  player  is  extremely  fast  in 


126  MODERN  TENNIS 

getting  to  the  net,  for  it  leaves  him  to  play  a  slow 
ball  falling  at  his  feet  as  he  dashes  up  to  the  net, 
and  in  the  majority  of  cases  he  is  put  at  a  dis- 
advantage in  trying  to  do  so.  In  returning  a  serv- 
ice in  this  manner  the  wrist  and  grip  must  be  very 
firm,  otherwise  the  ball  will  take  hold  of  the  racket 
too  much. 

Generally  speaking,  however,  an  effective 
American  service  must  be  vigorously  dealt  with. 
It  must  be  hit  hard  enough  to  hold  and  kill  the 
spin  by  mere  force  of  impact,  or  it  must  be  met  and 
driven  by  the  same  spin  as  that  which  has  already 
been  given  to  the  ball  by  the  player  on  the  other 
side  or  by  some  cross  spin  which  grips  and  kills  the 
spin  already  on  the  ball.  For  instance,  a  good 
return  to  the  American  service  is  a  forehand  drive 
with  lift,  that  is,  with  top  spin.  As  the  American 
service  already  has  a  modification  of  top  spin,  it 
follows  that  directly  a  player  endeavors  to 
drive  it  with  lift,  his  spin  has  to  grip,  fight,  and 
overcome  the  spin  that  is  already  on  the  ball,  for, 
as  may  be  seen  in  all  kinds  of  spin  on  a  tennis- 
ball,  like  answers  like,  that  is  to  say,  chop  kills 
chop  and  lift  or  top-spin  arrests  and  kills  top- 
spin,  while  top  or  lift  increases  chop,  and  vice 
versa. 

This  is  not  sufficiently  understood.  The  result 
is  that  very  frequently  men  who  are  in  the  habit 
of  "stroking"  the  ball  feel  utterly  lost  when  they 
meet  a  man  who  chops  his  ball,  for  the  simple 


THE   MODERN   SERVICE  127 

reason  that  they  add  to  the  spin  which  is  already 
on  the  chopped  ball,  as  back-spin  from  the  server's 
side  is  forward  spin  viewed  from  the  receiver's 
side ;  therefore,  if  he  hits  the  ball,  which  already 
has  on  it  a  large  amount  of  spin  from  him  to- 
ward his  opponent  with  the  ordinary  lifting 
stroke,  he  simply  increases  the  spin  that  is  al- 
ready on  the  ball,  and  in  too  many  cases  puts  it 
into  the  net. 

This  is  not  a  question  of  mere  theory.  It  ap- 
plies with  great  force  to  all  high-bounding  services 
with  much  spin.  It  is  expedient  for  the  player  to 
know  exactly  what  is  taking  place  as  the  ball 
comes  through  the  air  toward  him,  and  bounds 
off  his  court.  It  is  only  by  thoroughly  realizing 
this  that  an  intelligent  player  can  get  the  best 
possible  result,  for  the  action  of  the  spin  in  the 
American  service  is  so  great  off  the  racket  that  a 
drive  for  the  side-line  has  frequently  to  be  directed 
to  a  point  two  yards  inside  that  line  at  the  base- 
line. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  say  much  here 
about  the  production  of  the  ordinary  American 
service.  The  plates  show  very  clearly,  indeed,  how 
this  valuable  service  may  be  produced.  Some 
players,  it  seems  to  me,  particularly  Wilding,  get 
an  excess  of  spin  on  the  ball.  McLoughlin  does 
not  make  this  error.  He  does  not  get  more  spin 
on  his  ball  than  is  sufficient  to  drop  it  in  the  serv- 
ice-court while  it  is  traveling  at  its  greatest  pace. 


128  MODEEN  TENNIS 

An  excessive  spin,  naturally,  has  the  effect  of  slow- 
ing the  ball's  flight  considerably.  McLoughlin 
has  the  regulation  of  his  spin  calculated  to  a 
fraction.  In  this  respect  he  is  worthy  of  the 
closest  study. 

The  Eeverse  American  service  is  much  less  used 
than  the  ordinary  American.  It  is  one  of  the 
hardest  services  in  the  game  to  learn  correctly, 
but  both  it  and  the  ordinary  reverse  overhead 
service  are  well  worthy  of  cultivation.  The  main 
objection  to  the  Reverse  American  service,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  that  it  does  not  throw  one  into 
one's  stride  for  the  net  to  the  same  extent  as  does 
the  ordinary  American.  I  have  shown  the  Ee- 
verse American  service  by  four  pictures  (inter 
alia)  of  Mr.  Thomas  C.  Bundy,  who  has  a  very 
effective  Eeverse  American  service,  which  is,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  best  of  its  kind  in  America.  Mr. 
Bundy 's  grip  is  more  to  the  side  of  his  racket 
than  is  mine.  This  is  unquestionably  good  theory. 
In  my  ordinary  forehand  cut  service  I  get  well  to 
the  side  of  the  racket.  It  would  seem  right,  there- 
fore, to  reverse  this  for  the  Eeverse  American 
service. 

The  difference  between  the  Eeverse  American 
service  and  the  reverse  overhead  service  is  just 
exactly  the  same  difference  as  there  is  between 
the  ordinary  forehand  cut  service  and  the  Ameri- 
can service ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  racket  instead 
of  traveling  horizontally  across  the  ball  as  in  the 


NORMAN  E.  BR'OOKES — FOREHAND  DRIVE 

Notice  carefully  the  fine  position  of  the  feet,  and  that  the  arm 
and  racket  are  moving  in  the  same  plane  of  force,  generally 
called  in  the  same  line,  also  that  the  racket-head  Is  below  the 
ball. 

PLATE  25 


THE   MODERN   SERVICE  129 

reverse  cut,  goes  upwardly  across  it  at  an  angle 
of,  roughly  speaking,  45  degrees.  In  the  reverse 
overhead  cut  the  ball  in  its  break  follows  the 
swerve  of  the  service,  but  in  the  American  service, 
on  account  of  the  "  tilted"  top  spin,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  the  break  is  always  against 
the  swerve  of  the  ball.  This  makes  the  American 
service  a  very  deceptive  stroke  to  those  who  are 
not  accustomed  to  it.  The  word  "break"  in  Eng- 
land always  means  the  course  of  the  erratic  bound 
of  the  ball.  Here  it  is  sometimes  used  as  a  syn- 
onym for  curve  or  swerve.  I  am  using  it  in  the 
former  sense  here. 

The  ordinary  reverse  overhead  cut  service  is 
one  of  the  most  useful  strokes  in  the  game. 
One  of  Norman  E.  Brookes'  deadly  services  is 
practically  a  reverse  overhead  cut  service,  for, 
being  a  left-hander,  his  forehand  cut  service  is 
equivalent  to  a  right-handed  man's  reverse  over- 
head service. 


FOOT-FAULTS 

I  HAVE  already  referred  incidentally  to  the  mat- 
ter of  foot-faults,  but  the  question  is  of  such  im- 
portance to  the  game  that  I  feel  that  it  merits 
some  special  treatment. 

This  is  the  rule : 

"Law  6.  The  server  shall  before  commencing 
to  serve  stand  with  both  feet  at  rest  behind  (i.  e., 
further  from  the  net  than)  the  base-line  and  with- 
in the  limits  of  the  imaginary  continuation  of  the 
half-court  and  side-lines,  and  thereafter  the  server 
shall  not  run,  walk,  hop  or  jump  before  the  serv- 
ice has  been  delivered,  but  the  server  may  raise 
one  foot  from  (and,  if  desired,  replace  it  on)  the 
ground,  provided  that  both  feet  are  kept  behind 
the  base-line  until  the  service  has  been  delivered. 

Official  interpretation  of  Law  6 — "If  a  foot  be 
lifted  and  replaced,  there  must  be  no  change  of 
position  that  can  possibly  be  considered  a  step." 

It  might  possibly  be  well  at  some  time  to  amend 
the  law  so  that  it  would  read  as  follows : 

Law  6.  The  server  shall  before  commencing  to 
serve  stand  with  both  feet  at  rest  behind  (i.  e., 
further  from  the  net  than)  the  base-line  and  within 
the  limits  of  the  imaginary  continuation  of  the 
center-line  and  the  side-line  of  the  court  from 

130 


FOOT-FAULTS  131 

which  he  is  serving,  and  thereafter  the  server  shall 
not  run,  walk,  hop,  or  jump,  before  the  service  has 
been  delivered,  but  the  server  may  raise  one  foot 
from  (and,  if  desired,  replace  it  on)  the  ground, 
provided  that  both  feet  are  kept  behind  the  base- 
line and  within  the  limits  aforesaid  until  the  serv- 
ice has  been  delivered. 

As  the  rule  at  present  stands,  it  seems  that  a 
player,  serving  from  the  left  court,  may  stand 
right  up  to  the  half -court  line  and  then,  in  serving, 
deliver  his  ball  so  that  he  is  practically  serving 
from  the  right  court,  for  his  whole  body,  with  the 
exception  of  his  left  foot  and  a  portion  of  his 
left  leg,  may  be  immediately  behind  the  right 
court.  This  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  fault,  but 
it  seems,  as  the  law  now  stands,  that  this  is  a 
doubtful  point.  Also,  if  my  reading  of  the  rule  is 
right,  as  it  stands  at  present,  a  player  may  get  an 
advantage  by  standing  at  the  extreme  corner  of 
the  court  and  serving  from  beyond  the  side-line 
produced,  for  the  definition  of  ''behind'*  in  the 
rules  is  "further  from  the  net  than." 

The  laws  are,  generally  speaking,  somewhat 
loosely  drawn  and  incomplete.  In  any  game  one 
must  have  laws,  and  if  they  are  worth  making  they 
are  worth  making  well.  There  has  already  been 
far  too  much  doubt  and  annoyance  caused  by  this 
rule,  and  it  c?n  not  be  made  too  clear  or  enforced 
too  strictly. 

Many  people,  including  quite  a  number  of  good 


132  MODEEN  TENNIS 

players,  think  that  a  foot-fault  must  be  committed 
by  something  done  in  relation  to  the  line,  whereas 
it  is  not  so,  as  I  have  already  in  one  case  clearly 
shown. 

One  may  foot-fault  by  walking  up  to  the  proper 
position  behind  the  base-line  and  delivering  the 
service  without  coming  to  "rest."  Quite  a  num- 
ber of  good  players  do  this. 

One  may  foot-fault  by  having  both  feet  off  the 
ground  during  the  act  of  serving. 

One  may  foot-fault  by  taking  a  step  onto  the 
ball,  that  is  to  say,  advancing  toward  the  net 
during  the  act  of  serving,  altho  it  would  not  be  a 
fault  if  even  the  foot  nearer  the  net  were  raised 
and  replaced  not  nearer  the  net  than  its  original 
position. 

If  the  foot  nearer  the  net  be  raised  and  replaced 
closer  to  the  net  than  its  original  position  it  is  a 
foot-fault,  for  certainly  it  "can  possibly  be  con- 
sidered a  step." 

One  may,  of  course,  foot-fault  by  having  one  or 
both  feet  on  or  over  the  base-line  during  the  act 
of  serving. 

A  comparatively  uncommon  foot-fault  occurs 
when  the  player  starts  the  act  of  serving  in  such 
a  position  that  he  is  not  within  the  limits  of  the 
center-line  produced  and  the  side-line  of  the  court 
from  which  he  is  serving  produced,  altho,  as  I 
have  shown,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  service  would  be 
a  fault  if  he  started  properly  within  those  limits 


NORMAN  E.  BROOKES — FOREHAND   DRIVE 

Again  notice  the  perfect  footwork,  and  that  the  rac-kef,  altho 
it  has  come  so  far  up,  is  not  yet  turned  much.  Observe  care- 
fully the  line  of  the  forearm  and  the  nick. •(. 

PLATE  26 


FOOT-FAULTS  133 

and  swung  over  into,  or  rather  behind,  the  other 
court  during  the  act  of  serving. 

The  most  vicious  form  of  foot-fault  is  that 
wherein  the  player  gets  the  right  foot,  or  some 
part  of  it,  above  or  over  the  line  before  the  ball 
has  left  the  racket.  I  am,  of  course,  speaking 
now  of  a  right-handed  player. 

Many  people,  even  experienced  players,  are 
under  the  impression  that  in  order  to  make  a  foot- 
fault it  is  necessary  to  have  one  foot  on  the  lino 
or  one  foot  down  in  the  court.  This  is  not  so. 
One  may  be  standing  on  the  left  foot  six  inches 
clear  of  the  line,  in  the  act  of  serving,  with  the 
racket  within  six  inches — or  an  inch — of  the  ball, 
and  with  the  right  big  toe  directly  above  the  base- 
line. This  is  a  foot-fault.  It  becomes  a  foot- 
fault directly  the  toe  impinges  on  the  line,  whether 
it  is  in  contact  with  it  or  is  two  feet  above  it,  as 
actually  happens  with  some  players.  I  am,  of 
course,  speaking  of  a  right-handed  player. 

It  appears  that  the  United  States  National 
Lawn-Tennis  Association  is  very  anxious  to  put 
down  the  abuse  of  foot-faulting.  In  the  book  of 
laws  published  by  them  occurs  the  following : 

"Foot-fault  rule.  Every  effort  to  bring  about 
the  careful  observance  of  this  rule  during  the 
coming  playing-season  will  be  used  by  the  Execu- 
tive Committee,  who  will  welcome  the  cooperation 
of  all  Club-officers  in  connection  with  tournaments 
held  under  the  sanction  of  the  national  body.  If 


134  MODERN  TENNIS 

every  Club  holding  an  authorized  tournament  will 
make  a  special  effort  to  secure  for  their  tourna- 
ment a  "Foot-fault  Committee,"  and  will  have 
such  Committee  carefully  study  and  post  them- 
selves as  to  just  what  constitutes  a  foot-fault,  and 
then  rigidly  enforce  such  rule,  material  good  will 
be  accomplished  in  connection  with  the  legitimate 
interests  of  the  game. 

"The  Executive  Committee  especially  requests 
that  all  Clubs  giving  tournaments  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  U.  S.  N.  L.  T.  A.,  include  in  their  printed 
notices  direct  information,  'That  the  foot-fault 
rule  must  be  observed,'  and  copy  such  rule  ver- 
batim— as  part  of  their  tournament  announce- 
ment." 

This  sounds  very  well,  but  the  trouble  is  that  it 
is  not  carried  out  as  it  should  be  even  by  the 
officials  of  the  Association.  I  hear  them  again 
and  again  apologetically  calling  some  well-known 
player  for  about  one  transgression  in  five  in 
a  voice  which  seems  to  say,"  I  hope  you  will  for- 
give me,  old  chap,"  instead  of  ripping  out  the 
call  in  a  voice  which  means,  "You  have  done 
wrong  and  don't  make  any  mistake  about  it. 
Don't  look  at  me,  young  man,  as  tho  you  were  an 
injured  innocent.  I  can  see  your  shoes  better 
than  you  can,  and  on  all  questions  of  fact  I  am  as 
absolute  on  this  line  as  the  Czar  of  Eussia,  and 
don't  you  forget  it." 


FOOT-FAULTS  135 

An  apologetic  foot-fault  umpire  is  worse  than 
none  at  all. 

I  am  sure  that  if  the  officials  of  the  Association 
were  to  support  in  a  most  vigorous  way  capable 
and  firm  umpires  this  abuse  of  foot-faulting  would 
soon  be  stamped  out. 

At  Seabright  the  year  before  last  I  foot-faulted 
two  players  repeatedly.  I  had  to  be  very  severe 
with  one  of  them.  He  is  a  noted  athlete.  He  was 
on  the  service-line,  or  very  adjacent  thereto,  by 
the  time  the  ball  left  his  racket.  He  would  un- 
doubtedly have  won  the  match  had  I  let  him  con- 
tinue to  transgress.  His  opponent  was  not  so 
bad.  This  match  had  a  most  important  bearing 
on  the  year's  rating. 

The  loser  was  very  rude  to  me.  He  afterward 
sent  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  club  directing 
him  to  apologize  to  me.  I  did  not  get  the  letter, 
but  he  told  me  of  it  himself  afterward  at  New- 
port, and  I  saw  that  he  had  remodeled  his  service 
so  that  it  was  entirely  fair  as  a  result  of  the  one 
"gruelling"  that  he  got.  He  was  easily  the  worst 
I  ever  saw  on  a  tennis-court. 

He  was  perturbed  to  think  that  I  had  not  re- 
ceived his  apology.  I  assured  him  that  from  my 
point  of  view  it  did  not  matter,  but  that,  looking 
at  it  from  his,  I  was  very  glad  that  he  had  sent 
it,  and  that  we  could  easily  forget  it,  for  they  all 
"kick"  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  we  call 
"Foul"  instead  of  "Fault"  for  this  offense. 


136  MODERN  TENNIS 

At  Newport  the  year  before  last  I  foot-faulted 
E.  N.  Williams  2d  ten  times  in  one  match.  Once  I 
double  foot-faulted  him,  and  the  second  foot-fault 
gave  his  opponent  the  set.  I  did  not  realize  this  as 
I  was  calling  it,  altho,  needless  to  say,  it  would 
not  have  made  any  difference. 

Williams  came  to  me  next  day  and  asked  me  to 
watch  him  in  a  match  he  was  playing,  to  see  if  he 
was  serving  fairly.  I  did  so,  and  found  that  he 
had  altered  his  delivery  by  dragging  his  right  toe, 
which  saved  him  from  transgressing  so  badly  as 
he  had  been  doing. 

After  Seabright  I  was  asked  to  assist  at  West- 
chester,  which  I  gladly  did.  There  I  held  the 
players  to  the  base-line,  and  my  decisions  were 
received  in  a  most  proper  and  sportsmanlike 
manner,  players  of  international  reputation  alter- 
ing their  methods  when  their  infractions  were 
pointed  out  to  them.  Indeed,  in  the  rare  cases 
where  it  is  seriously  otherwise,  the  offense  carries 
its  own  condemnation,  for  after  all,  judging  foot- 
faults is  a  simple  operation,  and  disputing  an 
umpire's  decision  is  excessively  bad  form. 

I  have  had  many  amusing  experiences  in  this 
connection,  but  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  tennis- 
players  of  America  are  as  good  a  lot  of  sports- 
men as  one  might  want  to  meet  in  girdling  the 
globe,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  majority  of  those 
who  violate  the  rules  so  openly  do  not  realize  what 
an  injustice  they  are  inflicting  on  their  opponent, 
or  what  an  injury  they  are  doing  the  game. 


MAURICE   E.   McTjOUUHLiN — FOKKIIAXD    DRIVE 
There  is  a  lack  of  muscular  intention  in   this  stroke,  the  foot- 
work is  loose,  and  the  balance  is  lacking.     The  racket  has  begun 
to  turn  too  soon.     This  is  McLoughlln's  pronounced   fault  on   the 
forehand,   except  when  playing  a   high-bounding  ball. 

PLATE  27 


FOOT-FAULTS  137 

I  could,  if  I  cared  to  do  so,  give  some  very  re- 
markable illustrations  of  the  mental  attitude  of 
some  people  with  regard  to  this  question,  but  I 
think  that  I  have  said  enough  to  indicate  clearly 
my  opinion  of  its  seriousness  and  my  earnest  hope 
that  it  will  be  severely  dealt  with. 

For  my  part,  I  have  decided  that  I  shall  call 
every  foot-fault  "Foul."  If  objection  is  taken  to 
that,  I  shall  fall  back  on  the  German  pronuncia- 
tion, and  instead  of  calling  "Fault"  I  shall  call 
"Foult."  This  will  soon  do  away  with  any  sym- 
pathy for  the  transgressor.  At  present,  there  is 
far  too  much  of  this  shown,  generally  by  a  com- 
pletely ignorant  gallery;  but  the  repeated  call  of 
"Foul"  will  leave  them  no  chance  for  a  misunder- 
standing. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  unimportant  point.  The 
moral  influence  of  a  crowd  on  umpires  is  gener- 
ally very  great,  and  everything  that  the  Associa- 
tion can  do  to  help  them  as  a  class  should  be  done. 
Personally,  when  I  am  on  a  line,  I  see  a  pair  of 
shoes  and  hear  a  racket  hit  a  ball.  What  is  in  be- 
tween and  who  are  scattered  round  about  are  not 
of  importance  to  me. 

I  was  much  amused  once  at  Wimbledon.  I  was 
on  a  base-line  during  a  match  that  was  being 
played  in  the  center  court.  It  was  not  an  im- 
portant game.  A  New  Zealander  was  playing  a 
brother  colonial  in  the  All  England  Plate,  if  I 
remember. 


138  MODERN  TENNIS 

The  crowd  was  right  at  my  back.  I  foot-faulted 
one  of  the  players  repeatedly.  What  those  good 
people  didn't  call  me  was  hardly  worth  ''collect- 
ing, ' '  and  the  worst  of  it  was  that  most  of  them, 
I  am  sure,  desired  that  I  should  know  their  esti- 
mate of  my  capacity. 

Well,  I  bore  up  under  it,  as  I  usually  do  in  these 
circumstances.  Presently  a  well-known  player 
came  up  and  bent  over  the  line. 

"What  are  you  doing  to  'Jones,*  Vaile?"  he 
said.  "Is  he  jumping  as  usual?" 

"Yes,"  I  replied.  "I  think  he's  practising  for 
the  standing  high  jump  to-day." 

My  friend  watched  him  for  a  few  minutes, 
during  which  I  called  him  again  several  times,  and 
then  saying,  "He's  worse  than  usual  to-day,  I 
think,"  strolled  off,  leaving  behind  him  a  much 
subdued  gallery. 

The  New  Zealander  told  me  the  sequel.  His 
opponent  had  recently  arrived  in  England  from 
one  of  the  overseas  dominions.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  was  a  fairly  well-known  player,  who  had 
been  away  from  England  for  some  time,  during 
which  I  had  "descended  on  it." 

When  they  reached  the  club-house  he  said  to 
George  W.  Hillyard,  Secretary  of  the  All-England 
Club,  "Who  was  that  fellow  on  the  base-line  who 
kept  calling  faults  'on*  me?  I  don't  think  he 
knows  what  a  fault  is." 

"Oh,  that  was  P.  A.  Vaile,"  said  Hillyard,  and 


FOOT-FAULTS  139 

again  the  "gallery"  was  a  little  less  vociferous. 
So,  it  will  be  seen,  that  if  one  desires  to  assist 
in  wiping  out  this  very  great  abuse,  which  prom- 
ises to  do  much  to  spoil  the  game,  one  must  be 
prepared  good-naturedly  to  put  up  with  a  lot  of 
abuse  and  rudeness  from  ignorant  and  angry 
people,  hoping  that  the  ignorant  may  learn  and 
that  the  angry  may,  as  they  generally  do,  see  the 
error  of  their  ways. 

It  is  impossible  to  over-emphasize  the  duty  of 
foot-fault  umpires  to  call  foot-faults  most  strictly, 
and  of  players  to  receive  their  decisions  like 
gentlemen  and  sportsmen.  Galloping  over  the 
line  in  the  mad,  and  frequently  unscrupulous  and 
speculative,  charge  for  the  net  bids  fair  to  kill 
the  ground-game,  in  many  ways  the  finest  portion 
of  tennis. 


THE   LADIES 

I  HAVE  read,  I  think,  every  book  that  has  been 
published  on  tennis  during  the  last  fifteen  years, 
and  one  thing  that  I  have  always  resented  is 
the  half -contemptuous  manner  in  which  the  ladies 
get  turned  off  with  about  three  or  four  pages  at 
the  end  of  the  book. 

After  thinking  it  over  I  have  come  to  the  con- 
clusion— the  only  conclusion  possible,  it  seems  to 
me — that  this  is  not  deliberate  rudeness,  is  not 
indeed  even  due  to  the  feeling  that  woman  is  an 
inferior  tennis-creature,  but  that  it  has  simply 
arisen  from  a  "want  of  ignorance"  (as  Paddy 
said)  of  the  subject  of  my  discourse. 

Speaking  quite  seriously,  it  has  always  seemed 
to  me  that  the  ladies'  tennis  has  been  treated  as 
quite  a  subsidiary  matter.  Now  this  is  not  as  it 
should  be.  We  have  much  for  which  to  be  thank- 
ful to  the  ladies,  and  in  tennis,  as  in  everything 
else,  I  think  it  will  be  readily  admitted  that  we 
could  not  get  on  without  them,  and  many  of  them, 
both  here  and  abroad,  have  done  much  by  personal 
example,  skill,  and  active  assistance,  to  elevate  the 
game  to  the  position  it  now  holds,  which  yet,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  is  not  that  position  to 
which  its  merit  entitles  it,  for  there  aresf ew,  if  any, 

140 


THE   LADIES  141 

finer  games,  as  it  is  one  which  calls  for  most,  if 
not  all,  of  those  qualities  that  go  to  make  a  man  or 
a  woman.  Courage,  stamina,  skill,  alertness  both 
mental  and  physical,  self-restraint,  patience,  deter- 
mination, perseverance,  equanimity  under  adverse 
circumstances,  are  some  of  the  qualifications,  and 
downright  hard  work  the  portion  of  him  or  her 
who  would  absolutely  excel  at  this  game. 

Now  I  want  you  to  understand  "right  here,"  my 
fair  readers,  that  every  word  in  this  book  is  in- 
tended for  you.  The  men  may  certainly  read  it, 
and  accept  the  benefit  of  it  if  they  desire  to  do  so, 
but  you  must  understand  that  there  is  hardly  a 
statement,  an  explanation,  or  a  diagram  which  is 
not  intended  for  your  benefit.  The  highest  stand- 
ard of  practical  tennis  of  the  present  day  is 
that  which  our  men  champions  have  attained,  and 
so  many  of  our  ladies  are  now  playing  the  game 
so  well,  and  are  showing  such  wonderful  stamina 
and  agility,  and,  above  all  things,  "mixing"  their 
game  so  judiciously,  that  I  have  again  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying  that  all  I  have  written,  and  prob- 
ably all  I  shall  write,  is  intended  for  the  ladies. 

You  may  ask  where  you  come  in  in  men's 
doubles.  Even  those,  so  whole-hearted  am  I  in 
this  matter,  are  meant  for  you  also,  and  here,  with 
the  advancing  tendencies  of  the  age,  I  am  glad  to 
see  and  welcome  you  in  your  invasion  of  the 
men's  old-time  territory.  No  longer  are  you  con- 
tent to  hang  round  the  base-line  and  indulge  in 


142  MODERN  TENNIS 

interminable  rests  of  semi-lobs.  One  of  you  in 
a  double  will  quite  often  be  found  at  the  net  look- 
ing for  any  soft  stuff  that  may  be  wandering 
about,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  a  little  more 
time,  a  little  more  physical  energy,  a  little  more 
scientific  training,  and  you  will  be  found  ranged 
alongside  your  sister  at  the  net  presenting  an  im- 
pregnable wall  to  anything  except  a  lob.  Already 
many  of  you  come  up  to  the  net  in  a  most  judicious 
manner,  and  volley  really  well,  and  it  is  only  by 
mixing  your  game  thus  that  you  can  sustain  ladies' 
tennis  at  its  present  high  standard. 

I  have  a  few  more  remarks  to  make  to  you  here 
and  elsewhere,  but  again  I  desire  to  impress  upon 
you  most  forcibly  that  everything  I  have  written 
about*  the  game  is  meant  for  you,  and  that  I  am 
not  contenting  myself  with  letting  it  be  thought 
that  there  is  only  a  little  bit  of  this  book  for  you, 
for  that  is  not  so. 

Now  as  to  your  game.  I  should  strongly  advise 
you  to  cultivate  the  overhead  services.  They  are 
the  most  effective.  As  to  whether  you  have  suffi- 
cient stamina  to  continue  using  them  throughout 
a  tournament,  I  can  not,  of  course,  speak.  You 
will  soon  find  out  about  that,  but  even  if  you  can 
not,  they  are  most  valuable  as  a  change.  If  you 
can  not  serve  the  overhead  services,  or  being  able 
to  serve  them,  desire  to  rest  yourself,  you  must 
fall  back  on  practically  the  only  one  left  you,  and 
that  is  the  underhand  forehand  cut  service  with 


THE   LADIES  143 

plenty  of  work  on  it,  shown  at  Fig.  10.  Don't  be 
afraid  to  make  it  curl.  This  is  by  no  means  a 
service  to  be  despised.  Well  delivered,  it  takes  a 
good  man  frequently  all  his  time  to  make  a  very 
effective  return  off  this  service,  for  it  breaks  out 
of  court  and  keeps  low,  working  all  the  time.  It 
is  opposite  the  highest  part  of  the  net,  and  unless 
it  is  returned  sharply  across  the  middle  of  the  net 
or  by  a  good  lob,  it  has  a  fair  chance  of  coming 
near  the  net-man ;  also  the  work  on  it  and  its  low 
bound  make  it  by  no  means  an  ideal  ball  to  lob. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  well  played,  this  service  is 
very  near  the  reverse  overhead  service  (one  of 
the  most  effective)  minus  a  little  pace,  so  that 
if  you  do  occasionally,  or  always  even,  have  to 
fall  back  on  it  do  not  be  disheartened  and  consider 
it  a  sign  of  weakness,  because  perhaps  your  oppo- 
nent is  sending  you  overhead  stuff  which  really 
may  not  be  so  effective  as  your  more  unassuming 
deliveries.  Eemember  always  to  vary  your  pace, 
the  place  where  your  ball  pitches,  and  the  amount 
of  work  on  the  ball.  Don't  get  stereotyped. 
There  is  a  lot  of  room  for  variety  in  this  one 
service. 

Now  I  come  to  a  question  of  supreme  impor- 
tance to  lady  tennis-players,  and  that  is  volleying. 
It  is  amazing  how  few  ladies,  comparatively 
speaking,  volley  really  well.  This  is  not  because 
they  can  not.  It  is  in  many  cases  purely  a  want 
of  moral  courage  and  knowledge,  and  I  will  guar- 


144  MODERN  TENNIS 

antee  to  make  a  reasonably  competent  volleyer  of 
any  lady  with  a  good  eye. 

I  have  many  a  time  been  amused  by  my  fair 
pupil,  with  an  excellent  overhead  service,  de- 
claring dejectedly  that  she  knows  it  is  impossible 
for  her  to  volley.  When  I  have  explained  to  her 
that  every  time  she  gets  in  an  overhead  service, 
barring  the  fact  that  the  ball  has  not  dropt  very 
far,  she  is  playing  one  of  the  very  hardest  over- 
head volleys — if  indeed  it  be  not  the  very  hardest 
— she  generally  begins  to  pluck  up  courage,  but 
always  assures  me  she  knows  she  can  not  hit  it 
back  after  the  "other  girl"  or  the  "horrid  man" 
on  the  other  side  has  hit  it.  This  is  the  strength 
of  feminine  imagination.  I  then  invite  her  gently 
to  the  net,  and  ask  her  if  she  will  hold  her  racket 
stiffly  an  inch  or  two  on  her  side  of  the  net  and 
above  it.  I  then  show  her  that  a  ball  that  hits 
the  racket  will  jump  back  of  its  own  rebound.  I 
make  her  stand  away  a  little  further  until  the 
rebound  will  no  longer  do  it.  All  the  time  she 
is  becoming  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  the  mere 
meeting  of  a  ball  in  flight  with  a  stiff  wrist,  and 
the  face  of  the  racket  at  a  proper  angle,  will  pro- 
duce an  excellent  volley  close  to  the  net.  After  I 
have  got  so  far  it  is  generally  easy  to  induce  her  to 
let  herself  go  a  little  more,  and  she  makes  a  few 
good  shots  off  easy  balls,  then  misses  one  not  so 
easy,  and  turns  to  me  with  a  heart-breaking  little 
wail  of  "There,  I  know  I  car-r-r-n't  do  it!"  quite 


R.    N.    WILLIAMS    2o — FOKKHA.XD    DKIVE 

This  shows  where  Williams'  inaccuracy  on  his  forehand  comes 
from.  He  is  off  the  line  in  his  grip.  lie  slices  his  drive  Instead 
of  using  top.  Compare  his  absence  of  footwork  with  the  position 
of  Brookes.  This  is  the  difference  hetwcen  correct  form  in  foot- 
work and  none. 

PLATE  28 


THE   LADIES  145 

oblivious  of  the  fact  that  the  odds  are  three  to  one 
in  her  favor — or  have  been — and  that  she  is  get- 
ting on  quite  nicely. 

I  am  mentioning  this  latter  little  trait,  not  with 
any  desire  to  be  funny  at  my  pupil's  expense,  but 
because  it  is  really  very  important.  The  moral 
effect  on  a  lady  of  a  missed  smash  or  volley  always 
seems  to  me  to  be  about  seven  times  what  it  is  on 
a  man.  I  have  seen  in  a  ladies'  championship 
doubles  when  it  was  set  all,  5 — 4,  and  40  love,  the 
little  girl  on  the  leading  side,  who  had  been  volley- 
ing really  well,  miss  a  volley,  which  certainly  was 
an  easy  one,  and  then  retire  disconsolately  to  the 
base-line  when  she  should  have  been  attacking 
for  all  she  was  worth  and  taking  every  risk  rather 
than  retreat.  The  game  was  called  5  all,  6  all, 
and  was  ultimately  won  by  the  retreating  vol- 
leyer's  side  at  8 — 6;  but  the  moral  effect  of  that 
one  missed  volley  at  a  critical  stage  was  nearly  too 
much  for  her.  Ladies  must  fight  against  this  and 
go  on  the  general  average,  always  remembering 
that  altho  it  may  possibly  hearten  up  their  oppo- 
nents, a  missed  volley  counts  no  more  than  a 
bungled  ground-shot,  and  they  must  remember 
that  unless  they  are  physically  deficient  and  have 
such  bad  eyes  that  they  are  not  fit  to  play — and 
they  will  never  admit  that — they  all  can  volley, 
especially  if  they  start,  as  I  indicate,  at  the  net; 
and  let  me  tell  you,  my  fair  reader,  that,  in  a 
ladies'  double,  one  who  can  volley  well,  even  as  I 


146  MODERN  TENNIS 

indicate,  is  no  mean  partner,  for  with  your  oppo- 
nents on  the  base-line  the  drop  volley  is  a  deadly 
shot. 

Practically  all  of  that  in  my  general  remarks 
on  tactics  which  you  are  physically  able  to  carry 
out  is  for  your  benefit.  You  will  probably  find 
that  you  can  not  run  in  as  much  as  the  men,  and 
for  that  reason  you  must  husband  your  strength 
and  only  go  in  on  good  length  or  well-placed  balls, 
which  look  like  a  good  thing  at  the  net;  but  once 
you  have  decided  to  go  in,  get  there  with  all  con- 
venient speed,  and  if  your  ball  is  likely  to  make 
it  difficult  for  your  opponent  to  reply  with  a  good 
lob,  get  right  up  to  the  net.  In  my  chapter  on 
singles  you  will  see  that  I  emphasize  this  point. 

There  is  one  matter  that  I  must  refer  to  par- 
ticularly here.  Every  lady  whom  I  have  seen 
starting  to  learn  tennis  watches  the  ball  carefully 
and  anxiously  until  it  strikes  the  ground.  Then 
there  is  a  little  rustle,  a  little  rush,  a  big  sweep  of 
the  racket  in  the  air,  and  a  little  scream  as  the 
ball  pursues  the  even  tenor  of  its  way.  Lady  be- 
ginners invariably  run  in  too  close  to  the  ball. 
Were  I  teaching  an  absolute  beginner,  the  first 
exercise  I  should  give  her  would  be  in  judging 
distance.  I  should  make  her  stand  without  a 
racket  and  gage  the  flight  and  bound  of  the  ball 
so  that  it  should  alight  on  its  second  bound  two 
feet  to  the  right  of  her  left  foot.  When  she  could 
do  this  accurately  I  should  give  her  the  racket. 


THE   LADIES  147 

Many  ladies,  even  experienced  players,  have 
this  fault  in  a  modified  degree ;  that  is  to  say,  they 
are  not  quick  enough  in  judging  the  flight  of  the 
ball  the  moment  it  leaves  their  opponent's  racket. 
They  wait  until  it  is  in  their  court  before  they 
start  running.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  moment 
it  has  left  your  opponent's  racket  you  must  see 
where  it  is  going,  and  run  to  meet  it.  If  by  her 
backward  swing  preparatory  to  striking,  and  the 
position  of  her  body,  considering  also  the  openings 
in  your  court,  you  can  anticipate  the  direction  the 
ball  will  take  before  it  is  struck,  you  will  under- 
stand that  you  have  so  much  more  time  to  be  in 
position  to  meet  the  ball. 

Everything  that  I  have  said  with  regard  to  the 
position  of  the  feet  must  be  carefully  observed, 
as  on  this  depends  both  the  grace  and  effective- 
ness of  your  strokes,  and  above  everything  be 
careful  of  your  backhand  stroke.  You  seem  to 
fall  into  the  forehand  position  naturally.  Unless 
you  carefully  follow  the  instructions  given  or  get 
some  one  to  show  you,  it  is  "odds  on"  you  will 
get  a  wrong  style  for  your  backhand. 


THE   SINGLE  GAME 

ONE  of  the  greatest  faults  committed  by  tennis- 
players  is  that  of  endeavoring  to  win  outright  off 
an  unsuitable  ball,  instead  of  being  content  to  get 
it  back  with  good  length  or  position,  or  both,  and 
waiting  until  there  is  a  fair  chance  of  finishing 
the  rest. 

Perhaps  this  fault  is  in  no  case  more  apparent 
than  in  the  return  of  the  service,  which  you  re- 
peatedly see  driven  into  the  net  a  foot  down. 
Now  this  might  be  excusable  where  your  opponent 
is  rushing  at  you  and  you  can  not  get  him  out  of 
your  mind,  which  indeed  it  is  very  hard  to  do, 
but  how  often  do  we  see  it  done  when  the  opposing 
player  is  calmly  waiting  on  the  base-line  for  your 
return.  As  you  have  quite  two  feet  above  the  net 
to  put  up  a  good  length  medium  pace  return,  and 
you  have  driven  it  into  the  net  a  foot  below  the 
tape,  you  are  only  three  feet  below  where  you  need 
have  been,  and  with  a  certain  ace  against  you, 
instead  of  being  up  at  the  net  waiting  for  the 
return  of  a  well-pitched  ball,  with  a  reasonable 
chance  of  bringing  off  a  volley  that  should  count 
to  you.  Lay  this  to  heart.  It  is  unquestionably 
one  of  the  chief  faults  of  most,  and  particularly 
of  young,  players. 

148 


THOMAS  C.  BUNDY — PLAYING  A  CHOP 
This  is  a  very  fine  example  of  Mr.  F.undy's  clever  chop  stroke. 


THOMAS  C.  BUXDY — PLAYING  A  CHOP 

This  is  the  finish  of  Mr.  Buiuly's  chop  stroke.  Notice  the  ver- 
tical face  of  the  suddenly  arrested  racket.  These  two  pictures 
are  a  valuable  lesson  in  this  scientific  and  little-understood  stroke. 

PLATE  29 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  149 

To  my  mind  there  is,  speaking  from  a  purely 
theoretical  point  of  view,  only  one  way  to  play  a 
single,  and  that  is  to  play  from  or  close  behind  the 
base-line  until  you  have  either  got  your  opponent 
out  of  position,  or  have  delivered  such  a  well- 
placed  or  effective  service  or  return  that  you  are 
justified  in  advancing  to  the  net  with  the  object 
of  volleying  your  opponent's  return. 

Many  players,  particularly  Americans,  consis- 
tently run  in  on  their  service,  and  on  every  pos- 
sible chance  and  many  impossible  ones.  It  is  a 
good  fault,  and  I  am  inclined  to  be  lenient  toward 
it.  Of  course,  in  following  up  your  'service  you 
have  not  much  time  for  consideration,  and  you 
may  and  do  no  doubt  get  in,  and  score  off  lots  of 
stuff  that  theoretically  is  not  good  enough  to  go 
up  on.  You  commit  an  error  in  theory,  but  the 
end  justifies  the  means.  I  consider  that  every  ball 
that  is  good  enough,  be  it  service  or  return,  should 
be  followed  to  the  net,  I  say  '  *  to  "  the  net — not  to 
the  service-line — but  I  do  not  think  that  promis- 
cuous rushing  in  is  to  be  encouraged,  and,  given 
two  men  of  equal  skill,  the  persistent  rusher  will 
go  down  to  him  who  chooses  his  opportunity.* 

No  one  can  be  a  greater  advocate  of  the  volley 
than  I.  It  is  positively  painful  to  me  to  see  big, 
strong,  active  men  dancing  from  side  to  side  of  the 


*  This  is  as  sound  now  as  when  it  was  written.  Wilding:, 
in  recent  years,  has  been  a  conspicuous  example  of  mixing  his 
game. 


150  MODERN  TENNIS 

base-line,  exchanging  long  smites  from  end  to  end 
of  the  court,  occasionally  coming  in  to  the  service- 
line,  and  welting  an  inoffensive  ball  on  the  bound 
and  then  scuttling  back  to  the  base-line,  instead 
of  getting  right  in  and  waiting  for  a  "kill."  That 
I  can  not  pass  as  ideal  tennis,  and  the  men  that 
play  it  can  only  do  so  from  an  ignorance  of  the 
true  joy  of  the  real  game  and,  I  firmly  believe,  of 
their  own  powers. 

In  treating  of  the  single  game  I  shall  deal  only 
with  the  game  as  I  consider  it  should  be  played, 
because  the  proper  game  is  really  a  judicious 
combination  of  that  of  the  wild  rusher  and  the 
base-line  wanderer. 

SERVICE. — I  have  dealt  fully  with  the  different 
kinds  of  service,  but  so  far  I  have  not  touched 
upon  them  specifically  as  regards  their  use  when 
in  general  play.  I  do  not  believe  in  persistent 
running  in,  any  more  than  I  do  in  consistently 
serving  to  a  man's  backhand  even  tho  it  is  his 
weakest  point.  He  gets  used  to  it  and  is  prepared 
for  it.  Let  him  not  know  when  to  expect  it.  That 
is  what  troubles  him.  Choose  your  time  and  your 
opportunities  for  following  up  your  service,  even 
as  you  do  for  following  up  your  returns.  As  a 
general  rule  I  like  to  hammer  at  my  opponent's 
weak  spot,  and  with  most  people  this  is,  as  is 
well  known,  their  backhand.  Give  him  every 
opportunity  for  practise,  but  now  and  again  with 
a  sharp  shot  across  the  court  let  him  remember 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  151 

that  he  has  a  forehand.  Serve  every  ball  with  a 
definite  intention.  When  I  have  decoyed  a  man 
into  the  center-line  by  touching  him  up  on  the 
backhand  for  three  or  four  serves,  and  then  have 
finally  left  him  standing  by  a  smart  cross-court 
service,  I  have  enjoyed  that  more  than  anything 
I  got  out  of  the  others.  That  was  the  one  I  was 
working  for,  altho  quite  willing  to  take  what  I 
could  get  from  the  previous  deliveries. 

It  is  a  good  plan  now  and  again  to  serve  straight 
at  your  man.  If  the  service  is  fast  and  well 
placed  it  frequently  gives  you  an  advantage.  Re- 
member above  everything  to  try  to  regulate  your 
game  so  that  your  opponent  may  not  be  able  to 
anticipate  your  shots.  Keep  him  "guessing." 
It  is  stimulating  for  his  intellect,  and  there  is 
more  pleasure  for  you  in  it. 

Return  of  service. — The  two  commonest  returns 
of  the  service  are  side-line  or  cross-court  drives, 
and  they  are  both  good,  especially  if  your  oppo- 
nent is  running  in  on  his  service.  In  that  case  you 
must  endeavor  to  make  your  cross-court  shot 
sharp  across  the  court  and  also  put  plenty  of  lift 
on  it.  This  not  only  makes  it  more  sure  of  find- 
ing the  side-line  and  keeping  in,  but  imparts  that 
deceptive  flight  and  drop  to  it  that  makes  it  by 
no  means  an  easy  shot  to  treat  effectively  even  if 
it  be  reached.  Never  make  up  your  mind  what 
shot  you  are  going  to  play  until  the  ball  is  coming 
at  you.  It  will  almost  certainly  be  unsuitable  if 


152  MODEEN  TENNIS 

you  do.  Having  made  up  your  mind,  stick  to  it. 
Changing  is  generally  expensive. 

If  my  opponent  is  not  running  in,  directly  I 
see  the  least  opening  I  am  very  partial  to  a  drive 
down  the  middle  of  the  court  with  an  inclination 
toward  the  backhand  half-court,  say  anywhere 
within  six  or  eight  feet  of  the  center  line.  This 
stroke  has  manifold  advantages,  especially  if  you 
desire  to  follow  it  up,  as  it  closes  up  the  angles  of 
the  court  which  are  open  for  the  return  in  quite  a 
remarkable  manner,  and  also  it  runs  no  risk  of 
going  out  over  the  side-line,  so  that  your  anxieties 
are  confined  to  length. 

Many  players  think  a  ball  well  down  the  play- 
er's backhand  corner  is  quite  the  best  to  go  in  on, 
but  it  will  be  seen  from  Fig.  26  that  this  is  not 
necessarily  so,  and,  of  course,  the  same  argument 
applies  to  the  forehand. 

Figure  26  and  the  angles  thereon  will  explain 
my  idea  at  a  glance  when  taken  in  conjunction  with 
the  letterpress.  A  player  driving  a  ball  from  say 
six  feet  outside  the  base-line  as  at  C  to  the  corners 
of  the  courts  at  A  and  B  is  practically  covered  by 
the  man  at  the  net  H.  If,  however,  the  ball  is 
at  D  the  player  is  driving  it  into  the  court  which 
it  is  never  even  over  until  it  reaches  A,  and  he 
has  his  quick-dropping  backhand  cross-court 
shot  to  E,  so  that  he  has  practically  both  sides  of 
the  court  open  to  him.  Of  course,  you  will  say  a 
man  need  not  drive  to  the  extreme  corners. 


THE   SINGLE   GAME 


153 


Kl 


7T 


154  MODERN  TENNIS 

That  is  certainly  so.  He  may  endeavor  to  reach 
the  side-lines  nearer  the  service-line,  but  he  will 
have  a  bad  chance  of  getting  beyond  the  reach  of 
your  racket  with  any  except  a  first-class  shot  if 
you  are  at  H  and  he  is  at  C,  especially  if  he  is  the 
least  little  bit  at  sea,  and  you  are  making  him  risk 
the  side-lines  all  the  time. 

Now  as  to  running  up.  I  would  not  have  you 
for  a  moment  imagine  that  I  desire  to  throw  cold 
water  on  this  habit,  altho  it  is  carried  to  extremes 
by  some  of  our  champions,  especially  when  they 
are  opposed  to  men  of  weaker  caliber  than  them- 
selves, and  here  it  pays  handsomely  at  times.  On 
the  contrary,  I  would  lay  it  down  as  a  good  general 
axiom,  "When  in  doubt  race  for  the  net,'*  as,  for 
instance,  when  you  are  caught  a  bit  out  of  position 
in  the  back  court.  It  is  always  easier  to  run  up 
than  to  run  back  and, 

The  moral  effect  of  "bustling"  your  opponent 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated.  This  is  very  im- 
portant and  it  is  not  sufficiently  insisted  on  by  ten- 
nis-writers. You  who  have  played  golf  know  only 
too  well  how,  if  your  unfortunate  caddie  should 
heave  a  heavy  sigh  just  as  you  are  about  to  drive, 
it  will,  at  least  so  you  are  prepared  to  assert  after 
you  have  played,  ruin  your  shot.  Is  your  tennis 
temperament  then  so  utterly  dissimilar,  or  are  the 
people  who  play  it  so  differently  constituted  that 
it  will  assist  a  man  to  play  an  accurate  shot  if  he 
sees  a  wild-eyed,  stern-faced  figure  dancing  about 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  155 

at  the  net  with  swinging  racket  and  ready  to  do 
his  best  to  spoil  the  return!  You  may  take  my 
word  for  it  that  the  general  principles  involved, 
and  the  feelings  of  the  individuals  engaged,  are 
much  the  same,  and  this  is  one  of  the  strongest 
of  my  reasons  for  saying,  "When  in  doubt  race 
for  the  net,"  and  also  why  I  feel  more  leniently 
disposed  toward  the  consistent,  or  persistent, 
rusher. 

How  to  receive  the  service. — It  is  very  hard  to 
lay  down  any  general  rule  as  to  your  position  when 
your  opponent  is  serving,  as  so  much  depends 
upon  the  style  of  your  stroke  and  the  variety  of 
service  you  are  dealing  with.  I  have  one  fixt 
general  principle  of  my  own,  which  I  shall  give 
for  what  it  is  worth.  I  always  keep  as  nearly 
as  possible  diagonally  opposite  to  him,  and  gener- 
ally try  to  divide  the  space  into  which  he  can 
serve,  and  the  consequent  area  which  the  spread 
of  the  ball  in  that  segment  of  a  circle  which  is 
available  for  it  can  cover,  so  that  I  have,  roughly 
speaking,  half  of  such  segment  on  either  side  of 
me,  as  shown  at  D,  Fig.  27. 

A  glance  at  Fig.  27  will  show  A  the  server  as 
the  center  of  a  circle.  Every  service  is  practically 
a  radius,  and  the  full  available  segment  of  the 
circle  for  A's  service  is  (except  for  balls  with  a 
large  amount  of  cut,  and  which  are  naturally 
slower)  that  space  within  the  lines  A  C  and  A  B, 
and,  generally  speaking,  it  is  much  less,  for  I  am 


156 


MODERN  TENNIS 


I 


§8 

OS    H 


2  g 

*T      W 

II 


a 
p 

05 
P 
g 

I 


P.   A.  VAILE — Low  BACKHAND    DKIVK 

This  plate  shows  the  swinglwck  for  ji  low  backhand  stroke. 
It  begins  at  the  elbow.  Notice  particularly  the  position  of  my 
feet,  and  that  the  weight  is  mainly  on  the  left  foot. 

PLATE  30 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  157 

here  taking  the  extremes  of  exact  placing  on  either 
side.  Sometimes  you  will  have  to  be  six  feet  or 
more  outside  the  base-line,  at  others  you  may  be 
on  the  base-line.  So  much  depends  upon  the 
service,  the  ground,  the  wind,  and  so  on,  that  I 
can  not  lay  down  any  particular  position,  but  an- 
other useful  axiom  is  "Always  be  far  enough 
back" ;  for  the  same  old  cry  holds  good,  it  is  easier 
to  advance  than  to  retreat,  and  moreover  is  right 
and  natural,  and  you  have  the  added  advantage 
of  being  under  way  if  you  want  to  follow  your 
return  to  the  net. 

In  Mr.  Baddeley's  excellent  work,  published  in 
1895,  he  says  every  singles-player  who  desires  to 
excel  must  have  a  base  from  which  to  operate, 
having  one  base  for  back-play  and  another  for 
volleying.  These  bases  he  appoints,  for  back- 
play,  a  little  outside  the  center  of  the  base-line, 
and  for  volleying,  about  five  to  nine  feet  from  the 
center  of  the  net,  ' '  the  nearer  the  net  the  better. ' ' 
These  last  are  truly  words  of  wisdom,  and  must 
not  be  forgotten.  I  go  further  and  say,  " Don't 
be  five  feet  away."  If  you  have  got  your  oppo- 
nent so  that  he  can  probably  not  play  an  effective 
lob,  "sit  right  up  on  the  net";  in  other  words, 
be  just  so  far  away  from  it  that  you  can  play 
your  stroke  without  hitting  it. 

In  the  same  paragraph,  however,  Mr.  Baddeley 
has  these  remarkable  words:  "Immediately  he 
has  made  a  stroke  he  must  return  to  one  of  these 


158  MODERN  TENNIS 

bases."  Why  must?  Now  if  he  had  said  "if  in 
doubt,"  I  should  have  been  inclined  to  agree  with 
him,  and  so  modified,  I  think  the  advice  is  sound 
and  good  at  the  present  day,  altho  it  is  twenty 
years  old,  but  as  the  game  is  played  now,  you 
haven't  time  to  be  looking  for  your  base.  Imagine 
yourself,  having  played  a  ball  wide  on  the  back- 
hand, racing  for  your  base.  You  know  the  chances 
are  ten  to  one  the  return  will  go  away  to  the  other 
side,  and  you  do  not  think  of  checking  your  gallop 
on  the  central  base.  Players  should  always  re- 
member this,  that  generally  speaking  it  is  in  one  of 
two  directions  that  the  return  must  come.  Mathe- 
matically it  is  even  money  it  will  go  in  the  direction 
farthest  from  you.  The  tennis  odds  are  at  least 
fifteen  to  one  it  will.  This  is  good  enough 
to  back  every  time.  Race  for  that  place.  Now 
and  again  it  will  come  back  to  where  you  were, 
and  it  is  hard  to  check  your  run,  return,  and  play 
a  good  shot,  but  my  theory  is  sound,  as  you  will 
see.  You  can  not  cover  the  whole  court,  and  you 
must  go  where  you  have  the  best  chance  of  meet- 
ing the  ball.  It  is  a  most  effective  return  to  drive 
the  ball  back  to  the  spot  whence  your  opponent 
has  started  his  run,  and  I  am  very  fond  of  it, 
but  don't  do  it  too  often,  as  he  will  get  wary,  and, 
moreover,  you  are  saving  him  some  exertion. 
Make  it  your  aim  to  give  your  opponent  all  the 
exercise  you  can.  Keep  him  running.  Find  out 
his  sore  spot.  Then,  like  a  skilful  prize-fighter, 


P.  A.  VAILE — Low  BACKHAND  DRIVE 

Coming  onto  the  ball.  Notice  that  my  arm  and  tho  racket- 
handle  are  In  the  same  plane,  and  that  the  greater  weight  Is  now 
on  the  right  foot.  Notice  again  carefully  the  position  of  the  feet. 

PLATE  31 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  159 

hit  him  on  it  again  and  again.  Keep  it  going.  If 
you  find  that  he  dislikes  any  particular  service  or 
stroke,  don't  be  stingy  with  it.  I  remember  play- 
ing one  match  in  which  my  opponent  soon  evinced 
quite  a  loathing  for  ''chops/'  especially  on  his 
backhand.  He  didn't  think  they  were  tennis,  so 
I  gave  him  the  strongest  meat  of  this  description 
that  I  could  furnish,  and  I  am  afraid  he  did  not 
enjoy  his  game.  It  may  not  sound  agreeable,  but 
that  is  the  game :  once  you  have  found  your  oppo- 
nent's  weakness  or  pet  aversion,  keep  at  it;  and 
per  contra,  when  you  have  discovered  his  strength, 
don't  worry  about  giving  him  any  chances  to  show 
it,  until  the  match  is  over. 

It  is  a  mistake  in  any  game  of  tennis,  singles, 
doubles,  or  mixed,  to  get  "fixt"  during  a  rest. 
Once  the  ball  is  in  play  the  player  should  be 
"going"  till  it  is  dead,  and  even  before  it  is  in 
play  mind  you  are  not  too  set.  Do  not,  as  I  have 
seen  some  players  do,  stand  at  the  net  with  legs 
wide-straddled,  but  be  in  such  a  position  that  you 
can  "get  off  the  mark"  instantly. 

I  want  you  to  remember  particularly  the  cross- 
court  backhand  shot,  D  E,  Fig.  26.  It  is  an  invalu- 
able passing  shot,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  close 
to  the  net  you  can  drop  it,  especially  if  you  have 
put  a  fair  amount  of  lift  on  it.  The  same  applies, 
in  a  somewhat  less  degree  I  think,  altho  theoretic- 
ally they  are  exactly  similar,  to  the  corresponding 
shot  on  the  forehand. 


160  MODERN  TENNIS 

Many  players,  in  fact  most,  do  not  take  full 
advantage  of  the  facilities  offered  by  the  lifting 
drives  for  sharp  cross-court  shots.  Of  course, 
there  is  the  objection  that  if  it  is  not  an  outright 
score  you  let  your  man  up,  and  you  also  risk  going 
out  at  the  side-line,  but  it  is  a  shot  that  should 
be  more  cultivated  than  it  is  by  the  great  body  of 
players. 

Most  players  think  it  is  essential  to  drive  at  a 
man  who  is  running  in.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a 
slow  shot,  especially  if  it  be  quick-dropping,  is 
very  often  much  harder  for  him  to  play.  With  the 
drive  the  pace  of  the  ball  helps  him.  With  the 
slow  shot,  if  he  gets  to  it,  he  has  to  do  the  hitting 
at  the  end  of  his  run,  and  frequently  the  result  is 
not  satisfactory,  as  this  class  of  return  requires 
better  judgment  and  timing  than  most  players  are 
prepared  to  give  it  on  the  run;  also,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  ball  generally  has  to  be  hit 
upward,  which  makes  it  worse  still  for  the  vol- 
leyer.  Some  of  the  Australian  players  are  won- 
derfully good  at  these  slow  passing  shots. 

When  in  position  at  the  net  do  not  volley  back 
down  the  center  of  the  court  if  your  opponent  is 
up  also.  I  have  seen  good  players  throw  away 
countless  points  on  this.  Play  the  ball  at  an  acute 
angle  across  the  court  with  a  smart,  crisp  volley. 
This  is  the  advantage  of  being  right  at  the  net. 
If  you  are  volleying  from  near  the  service-line  it 
follows  that  you  can  not  get  the  sharp  angles. 


P.  A.  VAILE — Low  BACKHAND  DRIVE 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  picture  of  a  backhand  drive  ever 
taken.  The  ball  can  be  seen  moving  from  the  center  of  the 
racket.  Notice  th»  arm  with  the  elbow  pointing  to  the  net,  and 
that  the  forearm  and  the  handle  of  the  racket  are  in  the  same 
plane. 

PLATE  32 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  161 

The  Lob. — I  do  not  think  I  have  much  to  add  to 
what  I  have  said  about  the  lob.  It  is  a  stroke 
which  should  be  carefully  cultivated,  as  its  value 
can  not  be  overestimated.  It  is  a  good  point  to 
lob  your  opponent,  if  he  has  the  sun  in  his  face 
and  is  bothered  by  it  at  all.  If  he  replies  in  kind 
when  you  change  sides  and  the  sun  worries  you, 
let  the  lob  bound  and  either  attempt  to  kill  it  at 
the  top  of  its  bound  or  reply  by  a  lob.  The  lob 
can  be  played  with  wonderful  accuracy  with  the 

c 


\ 
\ 

\ 
\ 

\ 

\A 


FIGURE  28 

SHOWING  THEORY  OF  HALVING  THE  DISTANCE  FOR  LOBS  INSTEAD 
OF  PLAYING  FOR  THE  BASE-LINE 

back  cut  or  chop,  but  for  all  general  work  I  think 
the  plain-face  shot  is  good  enough — unless  you 
find  the  other  suits  you  better — and  if  the  idea  of 
halving  the  distance  be  carried  out,  I  think  it  will 
be  found  to  increase  the  accuracy  in  length.  Fig. 
28  will  illustrate  what  I  mean.  It  may  not  suit 
every  player,  but  it  is  worth  a  trial.  In  Fig.  28, 
B  on  the  base-line  is  lobbing  to  the  other  base-line 
at  A.  Instead  of  thinking  about  the  point  A  let 
him  concentrate  his  energies  on  putting  the  ball 


162  MODERN  TENNIS 

up  to  C  at  the  top  of  its  flight.  This  you  will  say 
is  a  distinction  without  a  difference.  Perhaps  it 
is,  but  it  is  long  odds  you  have  never  tried  it.  Do 
so. 

There  is  one  point  about  a  cut  lob  which  is  of 
value  and  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  it.  If  the 
work  on  it  is  sufficient,  it  follows  that  the  bound 
is  untrue.  Now  it  is  a  very  remarkable  thing  how 
rarely  you  see  a  player  anticipate  an  untrue  bound 
in  a  lob  (altho  in  general  work  it  is  often  done), 
and  on  account  of  this  peculiarity  I  have  scored 
many  a  point  with  them.  This  shows  how  little 
heed  is  paid  to  what  the  ball  is  doing  in  the  air. 
The  player  is  generally  racing  back,  and  in  many 
cases  he  just  gets  there,  when,  to  his  surprize,  the 
ball  either  breaks  in  at  him,  for  he  will  generally 
be  playing  it  forehand,  and  it  is  generally  a  fore- 
hand cut,  or  it  jumps  up  straight,  and  so  he  has  to 
hit  it  either  in  a  cramped  position,  or  perhaps  a 
foot  further  forward  than  he  calculated,  and  you 
know  what  this  means.  It  is  not  unusual,  and,  of 
course,  is  perfectly  natural,  for  a  cut  lob  to  bound 
up  very  straight.  It  is  not  like  the  skimming  chop 
across  the  net,  with  low  trajectory,  that  I  have 
referred  to.  It  is  dropping  fairly  straight  with 
backward  rotary  action,  and  no  particular 
amount  of  forward  impetus  to  fight  against  the 
back  rotation,  whereas  the  low  cut  which  shoots 
has  much.  This  may  be  a  small  point.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  scientific  player  and  the  ball- 


P.  A.  VAILE — Low  BACKHAND  DRIVE 

This  is  a  most  important  picture,  showing  the  forearm  during 
the  turnover,  which  produces  the  natural  finish  of  this  flue 
stroke.  Notice  again  the  position  of  the  feet. 

PLATE  33 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  163 

hitter  is  that  the  former  knows  all  the  small  points, 
as  well  as  the  others — and  uses  them. 

I  have  not  dealt  yet  with  the  importance  of 
anticipating  your  opponent's  return.  With  some 
this  is  quite  a  gift,  and  I  have  seen  very  remark- 
able instances  of  it,  but  those  who  have  not  the 
gift  may,  by  using  their  eyes  and  brains  carefully, 
soon  acquire  the  habit.  It  is  not  enough  to  follow 
the  flight  of  the  ball  from  the  very  moment  it 
leaves  the  racket  of  your  opponent — if  you  can  do 
more. 

You  must  endeavor  to  get  right  down  to  his 
style.  See  how  he  " produces*'  his  shots.  Note 
the  swing  of  his  racket,  the  angle  at  which  it  is 
swung  back,  the  way  he  stands  to  make  each  par- 
ticular stroke,  and  the  result,  in  flight  and  bound, 
of  that  stroke.  Note  also  the  angle  of  his  body  to 
the  net.  If  you  do  this  carefully  and  well,  you 
will  soon  know  when  his  racket  is  at  the  extent  of 
its  backward  swing,  what  its  mission  is,  and  when 
you  have  acquired  this  knowledge  you  have  gained 
that  which  will  save  you  valuable  time,  and  have 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  habit  of  observation 
which  will  stand  you  in  good  stead  in  many  a 
match.  If  you  can  see  him  playing  before  you 
have  to  deal  with  him,  there  can  not  be  any  pos- 
sible objection,  and  it  will  save  you  valuable  time 
when  you  are  facing  him  across  the  net. 

I  had  an  amusing  instance  of  the  value  of  antici- 
pation once.  A  "colt"  of  mine  was  playing  a 


164  MODERN  TENNIS 

match.  His  opponent  had  a  fairly  good  forehand, 
and  a  straight  backhand  shot  which  he  always 
played  with  a  kind  of  forward  poke,  which  said 
plainly  "Here  it's  coming,  look  out."  He  couldn't 
play  a  cross-court  backhand  shot  without  slewing 
round  exactly  where  the  ball  was  going.  My 
friend  had  not  much  knowledge  of  tactics  and  fed 
his  opponent's  forehand  most  kindly,  until  he  was 
two  sets  "down."  Between  sets,  I  said,  "I  sup- 
pose you  are  trying  to  lose  this  match!" 

"What  do  you  mean?  Of  course  I'm  not,"  he 
said. 

"Well,  if  that's  so,"  I  said,  "leave  his  forehand 
alone.  Whenever  you  see  his  backhand  poke 
coming,  get  right  up  to  the  net  in  the  center  of  the 
half -court.  Don't  bother  about  the  rest.  Con- 
sider your  court  is  thirteen  feet  six  inches  wide, 
and  you'll  surely  win,  altho  he  is  two  sets  to  love, 
for  your  condition  is  as  good  as  his.  Keep  a  good 
length  down  the  center  of  the  backhand  half- 
court." 

My  friend  could  guess  eggs  when  he  saw  the 
shells.  He  played  the  "center-theory"  on  the 
half -court  and  watched  for  the  premonitory  symp- 
toms of  that  poke,  and  considered  the  court  only 
half  its  real  width.  He  won  that  match  by  three 
sets  to  two,  and  I  don't  think  his  opponent  has 
forgiven  me  yet,  as  he  had  a  shrewd  suspicion 
that  I  had  a  finger  in  the  pie. 

If  you  are  hard  prest  and  your  opponent  is 


P.  A.  VAILE — Low   BACKHAND  DKIVK 

This  is  the  finish  of  the  stroke.  Notice  in  all  the  pictures 
the  tension  of  my  left  arm  and  wrist  which  balance  the  work 
of  my  right.  See  that  the  forearm  has  turned  and  the  thumb  now 
rides  above  the  racket.  Observe  that  the  weight  is  on  the  right 
foot.  Note  the  position  of  the  feet,  and  the  firmness  of  the  finish. 

PLATE  34 


THE   SINGLE   GAME  165 

in  position  at  the  net,  you  should  endeavor  to  lob 
over  his  head.  If  this  is  not  convenient,  and 
neither  of  the  side-lines,  nor  either  of  the  cross- 
court  passing  shots  I  have  referred  to,  is  open, 
you  should  drive  hard  and  low,  preferably  with 
plenty  of  lift,  straight  at  him.  This  at  all  times, 
as  I  think  I  have  before  mentioned,  is  a  good  shot, 
as  so  few  players  get  up  close  enough  to  play  it 
before  it  has  started  "diving,"  and  then,  even  if 
it  be  played,  it  can  not  be  severely  handled.  I  do 
not,  however,  advocate  the  indiscriminate  use  of 
this  shot,  as  I  always  prefer  to  keep  the  ball  away 
from  my  opponent  as  much  as  possible.  I  have 
seen  so  many  shots  which  were  apparently  im- 
possible for  the  striker-out  to  negotiate,  not  only 
returned  but  converted  into  winning  aces,  that  I 
always  like  to  see  the  ball  go  past  my  opponent. 

On  the  same  lines  I  would  always  say,  have  a 
try  for  everything,  especially  in  a  match,  unless 
you  need  to  conserve  your  energy.  You  never 
know  exactly  how  a  ball  will  bound — side,  >at  bil- 
liards, and  rotation,  at  tennis,  are  strange  things 
— and  sometimes  it  will  wait  for  you  in  quite  an 
accommodating  manner,  and  you  say,  "If  I  had 
started  soon  enough,  I  could  have  got  that";  be- 
sides, the  moral  effect  on  your  adversary  of  turn- 
ing losing  shots  into  winning  ones  must  not  be 
forgotten.  Never  consider  a  half-volley  out  of 
your  reach  until  you  have  tried  for  and  missed  it. 

It  is  a  true  saying  that  you  never  know  what 


166  MODERN  TENNIS 

you  can  do  until  you  try,  and  the  performance  of 
an  absolute  novice  once  filled  me  with  admiration. 
It  was  a  high,  dead-dropping  lob  on  the  base-line. 
With  the  confidence  born  of  ignorance,  he  took  on 
the  smash.  He  missed  the  ball.  As  it  bounded 
he  let  out  at  it  a  mighty  swipe  that  would,  had  it 
hit  it,  have  carried  it  into  the  next  parish.  Again 
he  missed,  and,  swinging  completely  round  with 
the  force  of  his  shot  and  no  doubt  somewhat 
fatigued  by  his  previous  efforts,  he  played  the 
dropping  ball  quite  soberly  and  returned  it.  This 
proves  my  contention.  I  am  sure  he  didn't  know 
he  could  do  it  until  he  tried — neither  did  I. 

Never  "ease  up"  when  you  are  playing  a  match. 
It  is  frequently  a  fatal  mistake,  for  the  effect  is 
twofold.  When  you  want  to  get  going  again  you 
find  you  can  not,  and  moreover  your  opponent  has 
become  heartened  up,  and  is  coming  at  you  with 
renewed  hope  and  vigor.  If  you  are  fit  you  should 
go  right  out  as  soon  as  you  can. 


DOUBLES 

GENERALLY  speaking,  the  double  game  calls  for 
more  severity  in  the  strokes  than  does  the  single. 
The  principal  shots  in  a  double  are : — 
The  center  drive. — This  is  the  most  useful 
return  in  a  double.  You  have  no  risk  of  going 
over  the  side-line,  and  so  long  as  you  escape 
the  server's  partner  and  get  your  drive  in  before 
the  server  is  quite  in  position,  you  have  a  good 
chance  of  scoring,  and,  moreover,  if  he  has  come 
up  a  bit  wide,  you  have  the  chance  of  going  clean 
between  your  opponents.  There  is  also  always  on 
your  side  the  element  of  uncertainty  which  fre- 
quently exists  as  to  who  is  to  take  such  balls; 
moreover,  not  only  do  you,  as  I  have  already  said, 
not  take  any  risk  as  to  your  side-line,  but  in  the 
little  time  which  is  left  to  the  player  running  up 
to  decide  as  to  his  shot,  he  will  very  frequently 
give  you  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  as  to  your  length, 
and  if  the  return  has  been  a  very  telling  one  you 
will  get  a  weak  answer  or  a  miss.  These  are  two 
strong  points  in  its  favor,  for  I  don't  care  who 
the  champion  is,  when  he  is  on  the  run  and  meet- 
ing a  fast  drive  with  plenty  of  lift  on  it,  he  must 
be  a  wonder  to  decide  within  a  yard  where  it  will 
pitch,  and  I  say  without  any  hesitation,  that  man 
doesn't  exist.  Therefore,  one  does  not  care  to 

167 


168  MODERN  TENNIS 

take  the  chance  of  letting  it  go,  and  if  he  does, 
and  sees  it  pounce  down  on  the  base-line  a  few 
times,  he  will  soon  alter  his  tactics.  The  flight 
of  this  shot  well  played  is  so  deceptive  that  it  does 
not  pay  to  let  it  go,  unless  you  are  certain  it  is 
going  out. 

The  cross-court  drive. — This  is  either  a  fore- 
hand or  backhand  drive,  preferably  with  plenty 
of  lift  on  it,  and  the  sharper  across  court  the 
better.  Well  played,  it  is  a  most  awkward  return 
to  reach  and  deal  with  effectively.  It  can  be 
played  as  a  slow  passing  shot  at  a  sharp  angle 
across  the  court,  and,  well  executed,  is  most  useful. 

The  side-line  drive. — This  is  a  pretty  shot  when 
well  played.  It  must  not  be  attempted  too  often, 
but  as  a  corrective  to  any  wandering  tendencies 
on  the  part  of  the  man  at  the  net  toward  the 
center  of  the  court,  it  is  very  valuable.  Do  not 
forget  that  here  is  the  highest  part  of  the  net. 

The  lob. — This  is  a  useful  shot,  especially  if  the 
server's  partner  stands  very  close  in.  Do  not  try 
to  lob  too  close  to  the  side-lines,  but  above  every- 
thing go  for  length,  and  if  you  have  any  doubt 
about  outlobbing  your  opponents,  toss  your  lob 
high  so  that  you  may  have  a  better  chance  to 
retreat,  and  await  the  threatened  "kill,"  and  also 
because  it  is  a  more  difficult  ball  to  deal  with.  A 
high  lob  has  a  lot  of  "acquired  impetus"  by  the 
time  it  reaches  the  racket,  and  it  is  astonishing 
how  many  of  them  find  their  way  into  the  net. 


DOUBLES  169 

In  a  double  each  player  should  attend  to  his 
own  lobs,  and  if  my  remarks  about  downward 
impetus,  want  of  moral  courage,  and  not  attempt- 
ing to  volley  downward,  have  been  duly  considered, 
he  will  surely  smash  them  most  effectively,  as  is 
his  duty.  If,  however,  he  can  not  do  that,  or 
return  the  ball  with  medium  pace  good  length,  he 
must  let  it  bound,  and  if  his  opponents  are  not  in 
a  strong  position  at  the  net,  which  they  ought  to 
be,  he  may  smash  it  after  it  has  risen,  or  lob  it 
back.  In  volleying  a  dead-dropping  lob,  by  which 
I  mean  one  that  is  falling  straight  down,  you 
must  be,  as  with  your  service,  practically  under 
it  for  your  stroke.  If  you  attempt  to  play  it  too 
far  in  front  of  you,  you  will  almost  certainly  hit 
it  down.  This  applies  with  nearly  equal  force  to 
any  overhead  volley,  but  in  the  matter  of  an  ap- 
proaching volley,  especially  if  it  has  any  upward 
tendency,  you  have  slightly  more  margin,  as  its 
flight  will  to  a  slight  extent  counteract  your  error, 
whereas  the  flight  of  the  lob  will  accentuate  it. 

The  server  should  be  under  way  almost  before 
the  ball  has  left  his  racket  and  should  lose  no  time 
in  getting  to  the  net.  You  will  ask  how  this  may 
be  accomplished.  As  a  matter  of  fact  you  can 
actually  be  under  way  before  the  ball  has  left  your 
racket  and  yet  commit  no  foot-fault.  The  Ameri- 
cans are  great  foot-faulters,  but  I  saw  some  of 
them,  whose  service  was  unquestionable,  so  trans- 
fer their  weight  that  at  the  moment  of  the  impact 


170  MODEEN  TENNIS 

of  the  racket  on  the  ball  their  heads  and  shoulders 
were  over  two  feet  inside  the  service-line,  with 
both  feet  still  behind  the  line,  and  they  were  prac- 
tically falling,  but  the  moment  the  ball  was  hit  the 
right  foot  was  smartly  brought  forward ;  but  they 
were  actually  under  way  before  the  ball  was  hit. 
I  am  a  great  believer  in  a  double  in  the  service 
down  the  center  of  the  court.  A  reference  to  Fig. 
29  will  show  that  this  service  practically  robs  the 
striker-out  of,  or  at  least  removes  the  sting  from, 
two  of  his  most  important  shots,  the  side-line 
drive  and  the  sharp  cross-court  shot.  I  do  not 
think  this  is  sufficiently  considered.  The  server 
should  take  all  balls  which  come  down  the  center 
of  the  court  and  to  his  own  side  of  that. 

The  server  should  vary  his  position  at  the  base- 
line as  little  as  necessary.  Personally,  I  stand 
about  the  middle  of  the  single  half-court,  and  I 
think  it  is  not  a  bad  base  to  operate  from.  In 
serving  down  the  center  of  the  court  I  stand  closer 
in.  Your  opponent  soon  takes  this  as  an  intima- 
tion that  such  a  service  is  coming.  Convince  him 
by  a  sharp  cross-court  service  that  he  is  wrong. 

The  server's  partner  should  stand  close  up  to 
the  net,  as  close,  indeed,  as  practicable,  without 
running  the  risk  of  hitting  the  net.  He  may  re- 
treat a  little  for  the  second  service,  which  is  gener- 
ally weak,  but  if  this  has  anything  like  a  good 
length,  unless  he  anticipates  a  lob,  I  can  not  see 
any  reason  for  going  back  very  far.  The  server's 


DOUBLES 


171 


172  MODERN  TENNIS 

partner  should  volley  everything  he  can  reach 
comfortably,  without  leaving  his  side-line  too  ex- 
posed, and  should  attempt  everything  that  looks 
as  if  it  would  not  be  within  reach  of  his  partner 
as  he  runs  in.  Before  the  return  is  made  he  should 
be  in  such  a  position  as  to  cover  his  side-line.  At 
or  immediately  before  the  actual  moment  of  the 
return,  especially  if  it  looks  like  a  center  drive, 
he  should  open  out  a  little,  and  even  if  he  does  not 
actually  move  very  far,  I  think  it  is  always  well 
to  be  seen  moving  toward  the  center.  Moral 
effect  is  an  important  factor  in  tennis,  and 
the  mere  fact  of  his  movement  toward  the  center 
of  the  court  will  often  make  his  opponent  add  a 
foot  or  two  so  as  to  get  away  from  his  anticipated 
volley,  and  so  play  more  into  the  hands  of  the 
man  running  up.  I  am  inclined  now  and  again  to 
be  a  bit  "risky"  in  tempting  my  opponent  to  drive 
down  the  side-line  especially  with  his  backhand. 
You  must  remember  that  he  has  the  highest  part 
of  the  net  to  get  over,  also  that  he  can  not  do  it 
every  time  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  pass  in  the 
small  margin  over  "cover"  which  you  will  allow 
him,  and  that  by  taking  some  slight  risks  in  this 
respect  you  will  probably  more  than  compensate 
for  it  by  what  you  will  "pick  up"  near  the  center, 
but  if  you  find  it  is  not  paying  drop  it  at  once. 
Of  course,  if  your  partner's  service  is  down  the 
middle  of  the  court  you  can  stand  much  wider 
from  the  side-lines,  as  shown  in  Fig.  29,  as  a  good 


DOUBLES  173 

side-line  passing  shot  is  then  practically  elimi- 
nated from  your  opponent's  available  returns.  A 
is  the  server,  and  C  the  striker-out.  It  will  be 
seen  that  practically  the  extremes  available  to  C 
for  a  drive  are  C  E  and  C  F,  so  that  on  a  service 
of  this  nature  the  server's  partner  can  certainly 
cover  more  of  the  net  than  on  a  cross-court  serv- 
ice. I  have  very  strong  opinions  on  the  value  of 
this  "center-theory."  It  seems  to  me  that,  well 
carried  out,  it  shuts  up  the  angles  of  the  court 
available  for  your  opponent  in  a  remarkable 
manner;  moreover,  in  serving  from  right  to  left 
you  are  generally,  of  course,  serving  to  your  op- 
ponent's backhand.  I  have  a  very  strong  objec- 
tion, as  a  general  rule,  to  a  cross-court  service 
which  goes  wide  out  at  the  side.  This  gives  your 
opponent  a  chance  of  a  passing  shot  down  the  side- 
line from  outside  the  court  into  it,  which  naturally 
allows  him  a  much  wider  margin,  see  D  A,  Fig. 
26,  and  it  also  gives  him  the  chance  of  a  very 
telling  cross-court  drive  over  the  lowest  part  of 
the  net  at  a  very  sharp  angle.  You  must  not  think 
it  unimportant  that  the  shot  has  the  lowest  por- 
tion of  the  net  available  for  it  in  its  natural  return, 
for  six  inches  count  in  this  game,  especially  if 
your  ball  is  not  a  "climber." 

I  have  before  laid  stress  on  the  straight  drive  at 
the  man  at  the  net.  It  is  frequently  useful  in  a 
double,  but  don't  tempt  Providence  by  playing  it 
too  often,  and  when  you  do,  try  your  best  to  make 


174  MODERN  TENNIS 

it  straight  at  his  middle.  It  is  a  very  awkward 
ball  to  return  effectively,  as  it  so  often  catches 
him  out  of  position. 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
position  in  which  the  striker-out's  partner  should 
stand.  My  own  opinion  is  that  they  should  be 
nearly  always  working  in  a  line  so  that  the 
base-line  and  a  line  drawn  through  the  two 
players  shall  be  parallel  to  each  other.  The  idea 
in  my  mind  of  a  perfect  double  combination  is 
that  they  form  the  front  half  of  a  pair  of  parallel 
rulers.  The  back  half  is  fixt  and  is  the  base-line. 
I  can  not  get  it  out  of  my  head  that,  in  the  matter 
of  getting  to  the  net,  the  two  men  should  be  one 
as  much  as  possible.  Many  players  favor  the 
idea  of  the  striker-out's  partner  standing  between 
the  net  and  the  service-line  for  every  service, 
except  a  very  severe  one,  in  which  case  they  are 
inclined  to  think  he  should  be  back  with  his  part- 
ner. Now,  my  idea  of  two  players  working  to- 
gether is  that  they  are  always  to  be  in  such  a 
position  that  one  of  them  can  almost  reach  any- 
thing that  may  come  along.  It  always  seems  to 
me  that  if  the  striker-out's  partner  is  standing 
inside  the  service-line  it  leaves  a  very  nasty  gap 
for  cross-court  returns,  and  exposes  him  to  some 
most  awkward  shots  at  his  feet.  If  the  striker- 
out  should  try  a  side-line  drive  down  his  oppo- 
nent's backhand,  and  it  be  met  by  a  good  volley 
across  court,  there  is  quite  a  large  gap  for  it  to 


DOUBLES  175 

go  through.  I  think  such  a  position  can  only  be 
defended  by  playing  the  game  successfully  from 
it,  and  it  is  not  given  to  many  to  do  this.  If  I 
were  speaking  purely  from  the  standpoint  of 
doubles,  as  played  in  England,  I  might  view  it 
with  more  favor,  but  I  have  seen  tennis  played 
in  many  lands,  and  particularly  in  the  double 
game — now  listen  to  the  heresy — I  am  not  an 
admirer  of  English  tactics.  There  is  an  absence 
of  the  brilliancy  that  I  look  for  in  doubles,  and 
expect  here  more  than  anywhere,  but  am  disap- 
pointed. I  consider  that  English  double  players 
volley  from  too  far  back  in  the  court.  They  are 
consequently  more  frequently  than  otherwise 
playing  their  volleys  upward,  instead  of,  as  they 
should  be  doing,  downward.  Their  leisurely  trot 
to  about  three  yards  from  the  net  amuses  me. 
This  is  where  I  excuse  the  rusher.  If  your  return 
or  service  is  good  enough  to  prevent  your  oppo- 
nent making  an  accurate  lob,  why  do  you  want  to 
wait  an  inch  further  from  the  net  than  is  neces- 
sary? He  won't  try  to  lob  every  time.  Some  of 
those  he  does  try  will  be  "good  business"  for 
you ;  some  which  outlob  you,  you  can  get  back  to 
and  return  the  compliment;  so  I  say,  get  right 
up  and  be  in  position  to  kill  the  ball  by  sharp 
cross-court  volleys  played  downward,  instead  of 
exchanging  volleys  from  your  feet,  of  which,  from 
their  length  and  lowness,  you  can  not  make  other 
than  mere  returns,  as  it  is  impossible  if  you  are 


176  MODERN  TENNIS 

far  back  to  get  the  deadly  cross-court  angles  of 
which  I  speak.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Austra- 
lians play  a  far  more  brilliant  and  attractive  game 
than  the  English.  They  lose  no  time  in  getting  to 
the  net,  and  their  volleying  is  excellent.  How- 
ever, as  to  this  matter  of  position  you  have  my 
views,  and  I  have  told  you  what  many  others  think. 
Try  them  both,  and  do  that  which  suits  your  com- 
bination best.  In  some  respects  your  partner 
standing  in  while  you  are  receiving  is  an  advan- 
tage, provided  you  can  get  alongside  him  quickly 
enough  after  your  return.  He  has  not  had  to 
run  and  is  ready  and  waiting,  but  if  your  return 
has  not  been  good  enough  to  enable  you  to  race 
right  up,  then  I  reckon  you  have  the  worst  of  the 
deal  at  once. 

As  I  said  before,  I  can  not  get  out  of  my  head 
the  notion  that  in  a  perfectly  combined  double  the 
two  men  should  be  one.  My  idea  of  this  perfect 
combination  is  a  big  edition  of  the  Siamese  twins. 
In  my  imagination  the  two  men  are  connected  as 
by  a  rod.  If  one  plays  the  shot  the  same  intelli- 
gence rules  the  pair.  If  it  is  good  the  twins  will 
follow  it  in  (because  they  can  not  be  separated), 
and  be  in  a  position  still  relatively  the  same  dis- 
tance apart,  and  the  same  distance  from  the  net; 
in  fact,  in  my  mind  I  class  them  as  one  being  at 
all  times,  except  when  the  server  is  attending  to 
his  business  on  the  base-line,  and  then,  of  course, 
he  must  effect  the  junction  again  as  quickly  as 


DOUBLES  177 

possible.  If  his  service  is  good  enough  he  should 
be  able  to  get  right  up  and  take  his  volley  before 
it  is  dropping  much.  Some  of  the  Australians  are 
very  good  at  this.  I  feel  certain  that  for  the  vast 
majority  of  players  this  game  is  the  better,  but 
you  "pays  your  money  and  you  takes  your 
choice." 


From  my  criticism  of  English  tennis  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
the  first  edition  of  this  work  I  stated  that  the  most  serious 
defect  in  English  doubles  is  the  position  of  the  striker-out's 
partner.  It  is  simply  stupid,  and  I  have  at  all  times  written 
strongly  against  it.  In  the  last  international  contest  for  the 
Dwight  Davis  Cup  Messrs.  Doherty  abandoned  the  English 
position,  and  used  the  formation  I  have  always  insisted  on. 
Twice  they  tried  the  English  position  for  a  short  time, 
promptly  paid  the  inevitable  penalty,  and  wisely  discarded  it. 
This  question  of  tactics  may  be  considered  absolutely  settled 
against  the  English  formation.  [1907.] 

In  the  recent  Davis  Cup  matches  played  at  Forest  Hills, 
Messrs.  Brookes  and  Wilding  used  the  formation  that  I  con- 
demn when  they  defeated  Messrs.  McLoughlin  and  Bundy,  but 
McLoughlin  was  playing  much  below  his  usual  form  that  day. 
It  is  a  liberty  with  the  game  which  may  be  taken  only  by  a 
team  that  is  "on  top"  of  its  opponents.  [1915.] 


MIXED   DOUBLES 

IF  my  lady  pupils  should  derive  the  benefit 
which  I  hope  they  will  from  my  little  lecture  on 
volleying,  I  could  easily  leave  this  chapter  out,  for 
then  this  game  would  be  nearly  men's  doubles. 
For  fear,  however,  that  they  may  not  make  such 
rapid  progress  as  I  could  wish,  I  must  make  a 
few  remarks  on  this  game,  a  game  from  which  I 
have  had  much  enjoyment. 

Generally  the  lady  plays  in  the  forehand  court 
and  on  the  base-line  and  the  man  at  the  net,  altho 
in  the  case  of  one  pair  who  held  the  English 
Championship  the  positions  were  reversed,  and 
the  lady  did  the  net  work,  while  the  man  drove 
from  the  base-line. 

When  the  man  is  serving,  his  partner,  unless 
she  is  a  good  volleyer,  must  stand  a  little  outside 
the  base-line.  The  man  follows  up  his  service. 
In  a  mixed  doubles  I  have  sometimes  been  accused 
of  "poaching"  volleys.  I  always  answer  that  it 
is  a  crime  unknown  to — at  least — my  tennis-law. 
The  man,  in  my  opinion,  should  never  allow  any- 
thing that  he  can  get  at  to  touch  the  ground.  I  am 
speaking  now  of  the  usual  case  of  the  lady  play- 
ing on  the  base-line. 

The  man  must  stand  in  on  the  lady's  service  to 
the  opposing  lady,  and  endeavor  to  kill  her  return. 

178 


MIXED   DOUBLES  179 

He  should  always  be  on  the  move,  darting  across 
and  snapping  everything  he  can  possibly  get  hold 
of,  until  the  opposing  lady  experiences  those  sen- 
sations which  prompted  a  fair  opponent  to  say  to 
me  once,  "Oh,  I  can  not  keep  away  from  you.'* 

It  is  generally  hard  for  the  man  to  do  much  at 
the  net  while  his  partner  is  serving  to  the  opposing 
man,  but  it  is  difficult  for  him  to  be  more  useful 
elsewhere.  I  always  impress  upon  my  lady  part- 
ner to  keep  fairly  well  toward  her  side-line,  as 
at  the  net  I  can  cover  the  greater  portion  of  the 
base-line,  and  if  she  does  stand  wide  it  means 
that  she  has  so  much  less  running,  as  the  majority 
of  returns  are  cross-court  shots.  I  also  firmly 
impress  on  the  ladies  the  value  to  them  of  serving 
down  the  middle  of  the  court  fairly  frequently, 
as  that  again  shuts  off  the  usual  diagonal  or  cross- 
court  shots  to  a  great  extent. 

While  her  partner  is  receiving  the  service  the 
lady  should  stand  a  little  outside  the  base-line 
and  toward  her  side-line.  If  she  has  a  weak  back- 
hand, she  should  keep  over  enough  to  cover  it  as 
much  as  possible  without  leaving  too  big  a  gap 
on  her  forehand.  As  in  men's  doubles,  so,  and 
more  so,  in  this  game  I  say,  apart  from  the  fact 
of  its  being  more  "companionable,"  a  man  should 
stay  back  with  his  partner  when  she  is  receiving. 

I  have  already  stated  what  a  liberal  interpre- 
tation I  put  on  "poaching."  I  shall  go  almost 
further.  Unless  you  are  playing  against  "one  of 


180  MODERN  TENNIS 

the  best,"  ladies,  you  should  take  great  risks  of 
being  passed  on  your  side  of  the  court  as  you 
dart  across  to  intercept  the  opposing  lady's  re- 
turns to  your  partner.  I  carry  it  to  an  excess, 
but  find  it  pays.  I  make  my  "base,"  to  quote  Mr. 
Baddeley,  very  near  the  middle  of  the  court,  and 
sometimes  manage  to  reach  and  intercept  returns 
by  the  single  side-line.  I  also  take  great  risks 
by  running  in  on  my  service  right  across,  in  many 
cases  beyond  the  middle  of  the  court,  and  I  find 
that  it  pays  in  the  long  run.  In  a  few  rare 
cases  where  it  does  not  I  do  not  take  too  long  to 
learn  my  lesson.  "When  badly  beaten  a  few  times 
I  give  it  a  rest.  It  may  have  been  only  a  "flash  in 
the  pan";  then  I  resume  operations  on  the  old 
lines.  History  does  not  always  repeat  itself. 
There  are  great  reversals  of  form  at  cricket  after 
the  adjournment  for  afternoon  "tea."  After  my 
adjournment  from  poaching — I  don't  admit  the 
term — I  frequently  find  the  same  thing.  I  have 
said,  in  speaking  of  men's  play,  to  keep  your  oppo- 
nent "guessing."  It  applies  with  much  more 
force  to  a  lady.  Do  not  let  her  settle  into  her  game 
if  you  can  help  it.  Worry  her  from  the  start. 
Give  a  few  object  lessons  in  the  rotation  of  the 
ball,  as,  for  instance,  now  and  again  a  reverse  cut, 
which  to  any  but  "  top-notchers "  is  a  perfect 
horror.  The  moral  effect  of  the  man's  continual 
encroachments  often  makes  the  lady  drive  the  ball 
out  of  court.  It  is  astonishing  how  some  men 


MIXED   DOUBLES  181 

spoil  a  lady's  game.  I  know  one  little  scamp,  a 
really  good  player  too,  who  charges  up  to  the  net 
and  does  a  few  steps  of  a  breakdown.  It  comes 
off  too.  He  has  explained  the  theory  of  this  shot 
to  me,  but  I  do  not  think  you  will  require  it ;  at  the 
same  time,  while  not  being  an  advocate  of  gym- 
nastics on  the  court,  I  must  say  that  the  value  of 
"bustling"  is  more  apparent,  perhaps,  in  a  mixed 
double  than  in  any  other  class  of  game. 

I  am  afraid  I  shall  get  into  hot  water  if  I  con- 
tinue to  tell  the  men  all  the  ladies'  weak  points, 
so  I  hasten  to  make  amends.  A  fine  shot  to  get 
away  from  the  worrying  man  is  a  diagonal  or 
cross-court  lob.  I  say  cross-court  particularly 
because  a  low  cross-court  lob  will  be  much  more 
out  of  his  reach  than  if  you  try  to  put  it  straight 
over  his  head,  for  he  has  to  run  across  and  then 
get  under  it  to  try  and  reach  it,  and  moreover  it 
is  going  back  toward  his  partner,  and  even  an 
inveterate  aerial  annexer,  like  myself,  always  has 
the  moral  effect  of  "woman"  behind  him  when  he 
thinks  the  lob  may  touch  ground,  and  does  not 
care  "to  go  too  far" — and  get  snubbed.  It  is  a 
very  useful  shot,  and  a  lady  to  play  a  good  mixed 
double  must  be  able  to  lob  well,  and,  indeed,  there 
is  no  reason  why  she  should  not,  especially  if  she 
practises  dividing  the  distance  as  I  have  recom- 
mended. 

Now  there  is  one  thing  that  often  worries  ladies 
in  a  mixed  double,  and  that  is  when  the  opposing 


182  MODERN  TENNIS 

man  serves  underhand  cuts.  They  never  seem  to 
understand  which  way  they  are  going  to  jump.  I 
shall  give  you  an  infallible  rule  for  circumventing 
the  wiles  of  the  deceiver. 

Watch  his  racket  and  whichever  way  that 
swings  you  may  rely  upon  it  that  the  ball  will 
break  the  opposite  way,  that  is,  if  he  swings  from 
right  to  left  the  ball  will  break  from  left  to  right 
— this  is  what  he  nearly  always  does — and  vice 
versa.  When  you  have  once  grasped  this  fact  all 
you  need  to  do  is  to  take  up  your  stand  for  the 
usual  break,  say  four  or  six  feet  to  your  left  of  the 
line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  unless  you  intend  to  play 
it  backhand. 

I  have  one  most  important  piece  of  advice  to 
give  every  lady  player  who  would  excel  at  this 
game.  It  is  good  advice,  tho  generally  dis- 
regarded in  the  game  of  life,  but  absolutely  essen- 
tial in  mixed  doubles;  altho  neglect  of  it  in  the 
ordinary  way  often  results  in  a  perfect  "com- 
bined," and  that  is,  "Keep  away  from  the  man." 
It  is  feminine  human  nature  to  count  the  value  of 
passing  the  man  as  worth  about  five  times  that  of 
beating  the  lady,  but  the  umpire  only  gives  it  the 
same  value,  and  man  is  a  tricky  animal.  You  can 
not  always  "pass"  him.  Sometimes,  of  course, 
you  prefer  not  to. 


LADIES'   SINGLES 

I  HAVE  very  little  to  say  under  this  heading  be- 
cause, as  I  have  already  told  my  lady  readers,  all 
that  I  have  said  in  this  book  is  for  them,  and  I 
only  insert  this  heading  so  that  I  may  emphasize 
this  fact  and  once  again  impress  upon  them  the 
absolute  necessity  of  acquiring  the  art  of  volley- 
ing if  they  desire  to  become  first-class  players,  or, 
indeed,  to  derive  the  highest  amount  of  pleasure 
from  the  game  that  it  is  capable  of  affording 
them. 

Reverting  again  to  my  suggestion  for  acquiring 
the  rudiments  of  the  art  of  volleying,  I  might 
amplify  it  to  what  seems  almost  an  absurd  extent, 
yet,  as  it  will  help,  possibly,  one  timid  player  to 
overcome  her  fear  of  the  ball,  I  shall  risk  being 
considered  absurd.  I  would  risk  more  than  that 
to  see  my  lady  pupils  improving  as  I  should  wish 
them  to  in  this  respect.  Some  ladies  absolutely 
fear  the  ball  may  hit  and  hurt  them,  nor  in  a 
measure  is  it  to  be  wondered  at.  I  have  seen 
many  a  man  do  a  discreet  "duck"  while  yet  there 
was  a  chance.  If  you  really  are  afraid  of  the  ball, 
if  it  is  coming  fast  enough  to  hurt  you,  keep  the 
blade  of  your  racket  between  it  and  your  face, 
and  play  it  thus,  but  you  must  be  careful  to  have 
your  racket  very  firm,  so  as  not  to  let  it  be  forced 

183 


184  MODEBN  TENNIS 

back,  and  if  you  can  give  your  racket  a  smart 
push  forward  just  as  the  ball  is  going  to  strike  it 
you  will  soon  get  on.  For  all  low  volleys  my  idea 
is  that  the  nearest  approximation  to  this  position, 
so  far  as  regards  the  line  of  flight  of  the  ball,  is 
unquestionably  theoretically  the  most  perfect.  Of 
course,  directly  you  get  confidence  you  will  hold 
your  racket  as  previously  instructed.  This,  as  I 
said  before,  may  sound  extreme,  but  so  imprest 
am  I  with  the  importance  to  ladies  of  volleying, 
from  every  point  of  view — science,  enjoyment,  and 
everything — that  I  would  adopt  any  legitimate 
expedient  to  coax  them  up  to  the  net. 

I  must  impress  upon  the  ladies  the  value  of 
studying  carefully  the  angles  of  the  court.  I  don't 
think  that  I  have  touched  emphatically  upon  this 
point  before,  but  an  ideal  tennis-player  should,  in 
theory,  have  eyes  in  the  back  of  his  head  as  well 
as  in  front.  You  will  wonder  what  for,  I  suppose. 

Well,  it  is  this.  The  average  player  sees  only 
what  is  in  front  of  him,  or  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  it,  and  plays  to  that.  The  man  or  woman 
who  wants  to  get  right  up  to  the  top  of  the  tree 
should  have  in  his  or  her  mind's  eye,  as  the  rear- 
gazing  optics  are  not  available,  exactly  where  the 
ball  which  is  coming  will  land.  Mentally  he  or  she 
as  it  comes  must  follow  it  to  where  it  will  strike 
the  ground.  For  this  it  is  essential  that  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  angles  of  the  court 
should  be  a  part  of  the  mental  equipment  of  the 


T.  B.  PELL — Low  BACKHAND  |)I:IVK 

Here  Mr.  Pell  is  shown  coming  onto  the  ball  with  an  ascending 
racket.  His  weight  has  been  transferred  to  the  right  foot,  add- 
ing power  and  accuracy. 

PLATE  37 


LADIES'   SINGLES  185 

true  tennis-player.  The  portion  of  the  court  be- 
hind him  should  be  as  clearly  denned  in  his  mental 
vision  as  that  in  front  is  in  his  physical. 

How  many  of  us  have  ever  given  this  a  thought! 
How  common  a  thing  it  is  to  see  balls  designedly 
allowed  to  pass  drop  well  within  the  court,  balls 
which,  could  your  eyes  have  done  a  right-about- 
face,  would  not  have  gone  a  foot  beyond  your  head 
before  you  would  have  clearly  seen  that  they  would 
fall  into  the  court. 

Apropos  of  this  question,  I  will  again  refer  my 
lady  readers  to  Fig.  26,  which  deals  with  center- 
theory.  This,  in  a  lady's  single,  will,  to  a  good 
volleyer,  be  found  of  immense  value. 

If  any  of  my  readers  are  keen  enough  to  follow 
up  this  question  of  angles  I  would  suggest  to  them 
a  series  of  experiments  in  them  which  should  prove 
interesting.  Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  center- 
theory  in  the  single  game.  Mark  a  spot  six  or 
nine  feet  behind  the  center  of  the  base-line.  Have 
a  number  of  pointed  sticks  six  feet  long.  Let  two 
of  them  have  red  tops,  and  the  others  white.  The 
red  tops  are  men.  Go  on  to  your  base  behind  the 
line  and  get  the  best  and  shortest  drive  you  can  on 
to  the  side-lines  which  will  allow  you  on  either  side 
the  widest  effective  passing  shot  you  can  make. 
Put  in  a  white  flag  at  each  spot.  Let  your  assist- 
ant stand  at  the  net  with  another  white  flag.  Go 
behind  your  base,  and  get  all  three  flags  in  a  line. 
Put  in  the  flag  at  the  net.  Eepeat  the  performance 


186  MODERN  TENNIS 

on  the  other  side.  Now  put  your  red  man  in  the 
center  of  the  two  white  flags  at  the  net.  Go  and 
sit  down  and  think  over  it.  Then  stand  at  the  red 
flag  and  see  how  much  of  the  net  you  can  cover. 

If  you  are  still  keen,  do  the  same  thing  with 
regard  to  corner  shots.  Unless  your  brain  is  of  a 
most  lethargic  nature,  and  in  that  case  you  won't 
be  troubling  with  flags — you  will  find  food  for 
reflection  here. 

If  you  still  have  room  for  more  theory,  extend 
this  process  to  doubles.  If  this  were  carefully 
studied  out  you  would  be  astonished  how  accurate 
you  would  become  in  anticipating  where  a  ball  will 
pitch  after  it  has  passed  you. 

Call  this  theory  run  mad  if  you  like.  I  have  not 
yet  given  you  a  chess-board  to  play  your  shots  off, 
as  they  do  in  golf  and  cricket,  altho  I  may  in  time. 

It  will  assist  you  in  taking  your  best  position  at 
the  net  in  a  wonderful  degree  when  you  have  dis- 
covered how  much  of  it  you  can  cover  on  this 
center-theory,  and  will  give  you  much  increased 
confidence.  It  will  show  you,  too,  that  wide 
corner  shots,  especially  to  a  man  who  has  a  good 
quick-dropping  cross-court  shot,  are  by  no  means 
always  the  safest  to  go  in  on. 

Some  people  will  say  this  should  have  been  in 
the  men's  singles  division,  but  I  am  making  no 
exceptions  in  their  favor.  If  they  don't  read 
about  your  singles  they  will  miss  it,  and  you  can 
play  it  off  on  them. 


LADIES'   SINGLES  187 

Before  I  close  this  chapter  I  must  really  compli- 
ment the  ladies  upon  their  great  excellence  in  one 
of  the  most  important  branches  of  the  game,  their 
length.  All  through  the  last  All  England  Cham- 
pionship meeting  I  was  immensely  imprest  with 
it,  the  more  so  as,  generally  speaking,  the  men's 
was  anything  but  good.  The  reason  for  this  is 
that  volleying  is  always  the  enemy  of  length. 
Playing  against  a  persistent  volleyer,  length  is 
generally  the  last  thing  one  wants. 


LADIES'   DOUBLES 

I  THINK  I  shall  be  excused  if  I  dismiss  this  sub- 
ject somewhat  summarily,  for  I  have  dealt  with  it 
very  fully  in  my  general  remarks. 

I  need  only  say  here,  if  you  can  volley  well 
enough,  and  have  energy  and  strength  enough, 
play  it  like  a  men's  double  as  nearly  as  you  can. 
If  only  one  of  you  has  the  above  requirements, 
play  it  as  much  like  a  mixed  double  as  you  can, 
with  the  additional  advantage  of  the  "man"  at 
the  net  having  two  poor  creatures  of  the  gentler 
sex  to  worry. 

If  neither  of  you  has  the  above  requirements, 
"go  out  on  half-time"  and  put  in  the  other  half 
learning  to  volley.  These  are  very  unscientific 
general  directions,  but  I  believe  that  in  the  main, 
and  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  rest  of  the  book, 
they  will  be  found  to  answer. 


188 


PRACTISE 

IT  is  all  very  well  to  write  it,  but  I  am  afraid 
that  of  what  I  call  practise  there  is  practically 
none.  If  there  were,  the  game  would  be  played  in 
a  more  scientific  manner  than  it  is. 

Practise  generally  consists  of  a  few  sets  with 
a  friend  or  friends,  and  this  is  not  of  as  much 
service  as  it  should  be,  because  the  Englishman,  in 
sport,  has  a  considerable  amount  of  the  American 
characteristic  of  wanting  to  "beat"  some  one,  and 
so  instead  of  practising  his  scales  he  is  doing 
Chopin — I  didn't  mean  to  pun;  it  was  purely 
accidental.  Pray  pardon  me. 

My  idea  of  practise  is  to  get  another  wild  enthu- 
siast— unfortunately,  or  perhaps  fortunately,  they 
are  rare — and  to  put  in  a  portion  of  the  time 
practising  just  length. 

When  you  have  had  enough  of  that,  toss  each 
other  up  thirty  or  forty  lobs  to  all  parts  of  the 
court,  and  practise  smashing  them. 

Then  stand  back  and  put  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
lobbing  for  length,  remembering  to  divide  your 
distance  as  suggested,  and  lob  for  the  half-way 
house.  If  it  doesn't  pay,  move  the  house  on  a  bit; 
but  I  am  convinced  one  should  not  have  the  idea 
of  playing  for  the  base-line  in  one's  mind  when 
lobbing.  It  should  be  the  point  in  the  atmosphere 

189 


190  MODEEN  TENNIS 

where  you  desire  gravitation  to  overcome  your 
force  that  should  be  the  dominant  idea  in  your 
mind. 

Then  stand  at  the  net  and  volley  a  few  drives. 
Step  back  a  yard  or  two,  and  get  your  friend  to 
put  in  a  few  quick-dropping  drives  with  lots  of 
lift,  and  see  what  you  can  do  with  them. 

After  this,  experiment  with  the  half-volley, 
especially  on  your  backhand,  always  remembering 
that  this  is  your  "blind  shot,"  and  that  you  must 
struggle  with  that  wandering  eye  of  yours. 

I  am  still  full  of  suggestions,  but  I  don't  want  to 
put  you  off  the  game  by  urging  too  severe  a  course, 
only  I  can  assure  you  that  I  know  that  so  long  as 
any  scoring  is  being  done  you  are  not  really  prac- 
tising. You  are  playing  a  fellow  to  whom  you 
can  owe  15.  You  will  experiment  a  little,  perhaps, 
and  he  gets  a  lead  on.  Then  he  assumes  a  look  of 
importance,  as  tho  it  was  no  trouble  to  him,  and 
says :  "  You're  a  bit  off  your  game  to-day."  Then 
you  say  to  yourself,  "Am  I?  I'll  show  you." 
And  you  go  after  him.  Practise  is  off  for  that 
day. 

If  you  must  play  rests  all  the  time  and  want  real 
practise,  there  is  only  one  way  to  get  it.  Do  not 
call  any  score  while  you  are  trying  strokes  and 
experimenting. 

I  am  writing  now  for  the  average  player. 

Don't  play  too  long  at  one  time,  especially  if 
you  are  preparing  for  a  match.  In  that  case  three 


PRACTISE  191 

or  four  good  sets  three  or  four  days  a  week  accord- 
ing to  your  strength  should  about  do.  Personally, 
I  take  much  more,  but  I  am  very  "greedy  for 
work"  of  this  description. 

Get  all  the  variety  you  can.  Play  as  many  dif- 
ferent styles  of  players  as  are  available.  This  is 
more  important  advice  than  appears  on  the  face  of 
it,  and  I  will  tell  you  why.  After  you  have  been 
playing  fellows  who  rush  up  to  the  net  all  the  time, 
and  you  then  take  on  one  who  plays  sound  tactics, 
you  will  frequently  find  your  length  quite  gone. 
You  wonder  how  it  is,  and  perhaps  it  will  not 
strike  you  that  when  playing  the  volleyers,  all  you 
cared  about  was  getting  past  them.  You  didn't 
car.e  what  happened  then,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact 
the  majority  of  your  strokes  would  probably  have 
been  cross-court  drives,  slow  passing  shots,  and 
low,  quick-dropping  drives,  many  of  them  intended 
to  "dive"  over  the  net  and  strike  the  ground 
before  he  could  get  to  them.  This,  of  course,  is 
not  the  best  practise  for  length. 


TOURNAMENT    PLAY 

IT  will  be  found  wise  to  get  your  eye  in  before 
you  start.  From  five  to  ten  minutes  should  suf- 
fice. You  should  be  the  best  judge  as  to  how  much 
you  want. 

Most  writers  give  innumerable,  instructions 
about  not  giving  up  and  so  on.  I  have  already 
"spread"  myself  to  such  an  extent  that  I  must 
play  the  "chop"  stroke  a  little  if  I  can  here. 

Generally  speaking,  if  you  want  to  win,  take  the 
thing  seriously  from  the  start.  Go  at  your  man 
like  a  bull-dog,  worry  him  the  whole  time,  never 
miss  an  opportunity  of  getting  in  at  him;  never 
count  him,  or  yourself,  beaten  until  the  match  is 
over ;  never  lose  your  equanimity,  for  it  is  as  valu- 
able here  as  at  golf;  play  your  game  for  all  you 
are  worth  all  the  while ;  in  other  words — and  you 
must  do  it  in  this  game  as  in  the  game  of  life  if 
you  desire  to  excel — play  the  man. 

If  you  think  you  would  like  to  kick  the  umpire, 
remember  that  you  also  have  umpired,  and  prob- 
ably escaped.  If  you  can  possibly  avoid  it  with- 
out hurting  any  one's  feelings,  never  accept  an 
umpire  in  whose  decision  you  have  not  confidence. 

Do  not  lightly  regard  the  suggestions  of  any 
one  who  knows  something  of  the  game,  and  who 
may  be  watching  your  match.  Remember  that  it 

192 


issi 


TOURNAMENT   PLAY  193 

is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  "Onlookers  see  most 
of  the  game,"  and  I  don't  care  what  champion 
you  are,  you  can  not  see  as  they  do.  Weigh  care- 
fully any  such  advice,  no  matter  how  trivial.  I 
will  give  you  an  instance  of  what  I  mean.  A  club- 
mate  of  mine  was  playing  a  championship  final. 
They  started  on  new  balls,  of  course.  If  there  is 
one  thing  I  am  particular  about,  it  is  tennis-balls. 
To  me,  a  discolored  ball  is  an  abomination.  My 
friend  won  6 — 2.  They  took  new  balls  for  the 
second  set,  and  went  on.  My  friend  won  again, 
6 — 3.  They  started  in  the  third  set  without 
changing  the  balls.  Everyone  knows  that  the 
bound  of  a  ball  alters  considerably  after  it  has  been 
played  with  for  a  set  or  two,  and  that  the  weight 
alters  materially.  My  friend's  opponent  took  the 
third  set,  6 — 2.  The  bound  of  the  ball  was  suiting 
him;  moreover  the  light  was  not  improving,  the 
balls  were  getting  dirty,  my  friend  wears  spec- 
tacles, and,  worst  of  all,  was  beginning  to  pay 
surreptitious  visits  to  his  whisky  flask,  and  the 
"dew"  stood  on  his  manly  brow — when  it  didn't 
run.  Judge  of  my  horror  when  I  saw  them  appar- 
ently going  on  to  play  with  the  same  balls.  In 
practise,  it  would  have  annoyed  me;  in  a  match, 
it  revolted  me,  both  from  a  tactical  and  an 
esthetic  point  of  view. 

"Are  you  going  to  play  with  those  things t"  I 
asked. 

"Yes,"  he  replied. 


194  MODERN  TENNIS 

"Oh,  give  him  the  match,"  I  said. 

He  stood  for  a  moment  in  thought,  turned,  went 
to  the  umpire,  and  obtaining  new  balls,  started. 
He  got  three  love,  and  then  just  won  the  fourth 
set,  9 — 7,  quite  finished,  whereas  his  opponent  was 
just  coming  at  him.  The  change  of  balls  was  in 
his  favor.  Theoretically  his  opponent,  of  course, 
should  have  been  as  well  able  to  play  with  the  new 
balls,  but  he  was  not,  and  I,  who  had  nothing  to 
do  but  sit  and  speculate,  saw  these  things.  This 
is  just  an  instance  of  what  little  things  will  turn  a 
match.  Both  players  admitted  that  the  change  of 
the  balls  at  that  period  meant  the  match. 

You  must  not,  of  course,  tender  or  expect  to  re- 
ceive any  assistance  during  the  play.  I  refer  to 
the  period  of  rest  between  sets  in  all  instances 
where  I  have  mentioned  cases  of  this  sort.  I  am 
aware  that  some  people  have  a  sentiment  against 
this.  Personally,  I  have  none.  I  should  not  hesi- 
tate to  ask  my  caddie's  opinion  at  golf  if  I  thought 
it  likely  to  be  of  value,  and  in  many  contests, 
where  skill  and  endurance  are  being  tested,  the 
player's  friends  or  seconds  at  a  convenient  time 
advise  him. 

If  you  have  to  play  a  match,  get  a  look  at  your 
opponent's  game  if  you  have  the  chance  of  doing 
so.  Study  it  carefully  as  I  have  mentioned  before 
when  referring  to  anticipation.  Then  after  you 
have  "sized  him  up,"  if  his  game  gives  you  any 
suggestion,  make  up  your  mind  as  to  your  tactics 


TOURNAMENT   PLAY  195 

against  him.  Go  onto  the  court  with  your  plan  of 
campaign  developed.  If,  after  you  have  launched 
the  attack,  you  find  it  isn't  working,  it  must  be 
modified,  or  changed  completely,  as  is  necessary. 
I  have  frequently  seen  matches  won  on  premedi- 
tated tactics.  You  can  think  it  out  calmly  while 
watching  your  man  play  another.  It  is  a  different 
thing  to  "size  him  up"  across  the  net,  and  he  may 
get  away  from  you  before  you  see  the  best  course 
to  adopt ;  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  if  you  have 
formed  your  opinion  of  his  play  by  careful  and 
uninterrupted  observation.  You  are  then  in  a 
much  better  position  to  deal  with  him. 

I  shall  not  give  you  any  elaborate  instructions 
on  training.  I  could  write  you  another  book  on 
this  subject  if  I  started,  so  I  must  condense  again. 

If  you  are  going  for  an  important  event,  get  a 
good  trainer  if  you  can  afford  it.  If  you  can  not, 
a  friend  and  a  book  on  training  will  be  some  assist- 
ance. 

For  all  ordinary  events,  you  need  not  make  a 
martyr  of  yourself.  Do  not  smoke  much.  Eat 
good  solid  food.  I  have  an  enormous  respect  for 
beefsteak  not  too  well  done.  Ease  "  John  Barley- 
corn" in  his  work. 

If  you  are  playing  a  very  hard  match  and  feel 
the  want  of  something,  take  a  little  coca  wine,  some 
whisky  and  water,  or  any  one  of  a  dozen  other 
similar  luxuries,  but  don't  drink  any  more  while 
playing  than  you  can  possibly  avoid.  You  should 


196  MODERN  TENNIS 

never  be  hungry  while  you  are  playing.  Regulate 
your  meals  if  you  can  so  that  you  have  a  fair  rest 
afterward,  before  you  start  your  match. 

I  have  a  strong  idea  that  for  a  tournament  ex- 
tending over  a  course  of,  say,  five  or  six  days,  it 
is  no  detriment  for  a  player  to  be  "short  of  a  gal- 
lop" or  two.  If  he  is  too  well  wound  up,  he  may 
become  stale;  but  this  to  a  large  extent  depends 
upon  the  man. 


UMPIRING   AND   THE   LINESMAN 

To  be  a  good  umpire  it  is  essential  above  every- 
thing, except  good  eyesight,  that  you  should  know 
the  rules  and  laws  of  tennis.  This  may  seem  a 
superfluous  statement.  I  assure  you  it  is  not. 
Wherever  I  go,  I  find  blind  people  who  know  little 
or  nothing  about  the  game  cheerfully  taking  this 
important  position. 

I  have  found  that  you  may  umpire  almost  per- 
fectly, and  yet  run  no  serious  risk  of  being 
harassed  by  the  players  as  to  your  views  on  the 
subject  of  irrigation.  On  the  other  hand,  you  may 
make  a  trifling  error,  and  it  is  any  odds  that  one 
of  the  quartet  will  be  unable  to  prevent  you 
hearing  that  he  has  a  horrid  suspicion  that  there 
is  hereditary  insanity  in  your  family. 

If  an  umpire  knows  his  laws  and  his  business,  he 
will  remember  that,  while  he  is  in  the  chair,  on 
questions  of  fact  his  decision  is  absolutely  final. 

To  the  linesman  I  shall  be  brief  but  emphatic. 
Please  remember  that  your  duty  is  to  call  sharply 
and  distinctly  immediately  the  ball  is  out,  or  a 
fault  is  made,  and  never,  upon  any  account,  call 
"Right,"  or  "In,"  as  this  will  advertise  to  those 
who  understand  these  things  that  you  are  not  quite 
up  to  date.  Moreover,  it  is  a  most  exasperating 
habit  for  the  players.  Sit  with  your  back  to  the 

197 


198  MODERN  TENNIS 

sun  when  you  can,  right  opposite  the  line  you  are 
taking,  and  never  dream  of  taking  two  lines.  I 
have  been  repeatedly  asked  to,  but  invariably 
reply,  that  if  I  can  do  one  to  the  complete  satis- 
faction of  the  players  I  shall  almost  have  achieved 
a  record. 

Both  players  and  umpire  sometimes  appeal  to 
the  linesman  as  to  "how"  a  ball  is.  Such  an  ap- 
peal, if  the  linesman  knows  his  duty — and  if  he 
does  not  he  should  not  be  there — is  superfluous. 
His  silence  is  a  decision  that  it  is  good.  Where 
there  is  a  referee,  an  appeal  to  him  from  the  um- 
pire's decision  may  be  made  on  a  question  of  law. 


ENGLISH  AND  AUSTRALASIAN  TENNIS 
COMPARED 

I  HAVE  been  much  amused  in  England  by  the 
negligently  charitable  attitude  of  some  of  the  play- 
ers when  speaking  of  Australasian  tennis.  It 
seems  to  breathe  the  sentiment,  "We  are  the 
tennis-players.  Bun  away,  little  boy.  We  have 
nothing  to  learn." 

The  same  mental  condition  existed  many  years 
ago  in  regard  to  cricket.  It  is  not  so  apparent 
now. 

Australasian  tennis  has  been  judged  by  the  per- 
formances of  a  stray  New  Zealander,  who  found 
his  way  to  London,  played  in  the  Championship  of 
England,  was  beaten  three  sets  to  one  by  A.  W. 
Gore,  who  afterward  won  the  Championship,  and 
who  himself  told  me  that  he  had  to  go  for  it 
against  the  Colonial  player;  and  by  the  form  of 
an  English  player  who  won  a  Championship  at 
Sydney.  Both  these  performances  are  unreliable 
as  indications  of  the  capabilities  of  Colonial 
players.* 

It  has,  I  think,  been  admitted  that  the  Austra- 
lians, if  not  so  now,  were,  when  they  tackled  us 
first  at  cricket,  superior  to  us  in  resource.  It  is 

*  A  year  after  this  book  was  first  published,  the  pioneer 
Australasian  team  came  to  England.  The  accuracy  of  this 
statement,  which  was  considerably  criticized  at  the  time  of 
publication,  was,  as  all  tennis-players  know,  fully  established. 

199 


200  MODERN  TENNIS 

in  just  the  quality  exprest  by  that  word,  which 
sounds  so  vague  and  yet  is  so  expressive,  that  I 
think  many  of  the  leading  Colonial  players  exceed 
the  capabilities  of  the  Englishmen. 

The  Englishman's  stupendously  calm  self-satis- 
faction, that  is  so  intensely  irritating  to  some 
people,  is,  when  one  can  view  it  in  the  right  light — 
which  apparently  his  neighbors  find  it  hard  to  do 
— sublime,  and  entitled  to  the  greatest  admira- 
tion. He  does  not  need  to  "blow,"  he  does  not 
need  even  to  ask:  "Would  the  Colonial  boys  have 
a  chance  with  us?"  The  thing  is  absurd.  He 
knows  his  own  unassailable  supremacy  in  every- 
thing from  his  Navy  to  Free  Trade,  excepting  al- 
ways, of  course,  cricket.  He  does  not  bother  to 
exert  any  introspective,  analytical  powers — if  he 
has  any — on  his  own  position.  He  knows  it  is  so ; 
that  is  enough. 

This  is  not  business — it  is  not  even  polite — but, 
as  the  Frenchman  is  alleged  to  have  said  of  the 
charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,  it  is  magnificent. 

I  could  pick  an  Australasian  team  of  eight  or 
ten  almost  any  day,  who  would  make  things  very 
interesting.  They  know  a  little  about  tennis,  I 
can  assure  you.  I  would  take  four  of  their  best 
single  players  against  four  of  England's  and  the 
odds  would  be  evens. 

Against  the  Singles  Champion  of  the  World,  I 
would  put  up  a  Sydney  lad  whose  name  is  not 
known,  and  the  spectators  would  get  fun  for  their 


TENNIS   COMPARED  201 

money.  Best  and  best  at  singles,  so  long  as  you 
don't  take  too  many,  and  swamp  the  Colonials  by 
numbers,  a  very  small  handicap  would  bring  them 
together.  Why  should  it  be  otherwise!  They  can 
do  it  at  cricket,  why  not  at  tennis?  They  are  the 
same  race,  living,  perhaps,  under  better  and 
healthier  conditions. 

I  admire  Australian  double  play  immensely. 
They  go  for  their  shot  every  time,  and  they  never 
lose  any  time  in  getting  to  the  net.  Despite  any- 
thing any  one  has  to  say  on  the  subject,  my  opinion 
is  that  the  only  gait  suitable  for  getting  up  from 
the  base-line  to  the  net  is  the  gallop.  It  is  no  good 
"trotting"  up  unless  you  can  "break  two  min- 
utes." Where  the  Australians  excel  is  that  they 
make  their  strokes  severe  enough  to  risk  the  lob, 
then  they  race  for  the  net,  and  stay  right  up 
against  it,  which  in  my  humble  opinion  is  the  place. 
You  must  get  beaten  sometimes,  but  it  is  very 
hard  to  keep  lobbing  perfectly,  and,  moreover, 
most  men  think  it  beneath  them  to  keep  on  lobbing, 
and  they  give  you  a  chance  now  and  again.  I  am 
very  strong  on  this  point.  I  think  it  makes  all 
the  difference  in  the  beauty  of  the  game.  If  I 
agreed  with  playing  your  volleys  from  your  feet, 
I  should  immediately  advocate  putting  that  other 
yard  on  the  court,  but  I  don't,  and  never  will. 

The  main  difference  between  Australian  and 
English  tennis  is  that  in  England  the  men  live  at 
tournaments  in  the  season,  and  in  covered  courts 


202  MODERN  TENNIS 

out  of  it — figure  of  speech,  you'll  understand;  big 
proportion  of  fact,  tho. 

In  Australasia  they  may  get  a  week's  real  tour- 
nament play  in  a  year. 

Give  me  a  good  team  of  Australasians,  such  as 
I  could  pick,  and  let  me  acclimatize  them  here  for  a 
few  months,  with  plenty  of  tournament  play,  and 
there  are  more  unlikely  things  than  that  the 
Messrs.  Doherty  would  have  to  go  to  the  land  of 
the  Golden  Fleece  tennis  ash-hunting.* 

I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  little  patriotic! 
ebullition,  but  the  fact  is  that  we  all  belong  to  the 
same  dear  old  home,  are  all  actuated  by  the  same 
keen  love  of  sport  that  always  has  been,  and  I  hope 
always  will  be,  one  of  the  grandest,  healthiest,  and 
best  features  of  our  national  life,  and  if  ''Papa 
Bull"  does  assume,  as  a  fact  beyond  argument, 
that  he  is  still  "one  too  many"  for  his  children, 
who  shall  really,  in  earnest,  find  fault  with  him? 
Are  we  not  every  day  in  our  own  little  homes 
doing  the  very  same  thing?  Well  then,  let  it  rest 
at  that,  but  some  day,  Papa,  I  shall  bring  the  boys 
to  "see"  you. 

Reverting  again  to  the  respective  play  of  the 
Australasians  and  the  English,  and  my  remark  as 
to  the  greater  resource  of  the  Australians,  it 


*  A  year  after  this  was  written,  Messrs.  A.  W.  Dunlop  and 
N.  E.  Brookes  defeated  Messrs.  R.  F.  and  H.  L.  Doherty,  at 
Queen's  Club,  London,  after  a  hard  five-set  match. 

t  Being  a  New  Zealander,  I  am  of  the  Davis  Cup  "nation" 
— Australasia. 


TENNIS   COMPARED  203 

was,  I  think,  in  bowling  that  good  old  Trumble 
showed  England  a  wrinkle  or  two.  It  is  in  the 
Englishmen's  deliveries  that  I  noticed  particularly 
room  for  improvement.  I  can  not  help  thinking 
that  the  service  is  very  stereotyped.  There  is  not 
enough  attention  paid  to  varying  the  pace,  length, 
spin,  and  placing  of  the  service.  Again,  their 
length  was  certainly  not  too  good,  and  was 
undoubtedly  inferior  to  that  of  the  ladies. 

They  are  not  quick  enough  in  getting  up  to  the 
net,  and  indeed  in  my  opinion,  generally  speaking, 
do  not  run  to  the  right  place,  as  they  slack  off  too 
soon,  and  have  to  play  the  ball  dropping  all  the 
time.  Even  the  Dohertys  offend  greatly  in  this 
respect. 

I  did  not  see  at  Wimbledon  last  year  a  backhand 
off  the  ground  equal  to  at  least  three  I  know  in 
Australasia.  The  backhand  drive,  as  I  am  accus- 
tomed to  seeing  it  played,  seems  a  lost  art. 
There  is  a  strong  and  marked  tendency  with  many 
players  to  reduce  the  game  to  pat-ball. 

When,  however,  I  come  to  compare  the  ladies,  I 
must  capitulate  at  once.  This  I  assure  my  fair 
readers  is  absolutely  genuine.  They  are  much 
further  away  from  the  Colonial  ladies  than  are  the 
men.  England,  of  course,  with  her  large  popula- 
tion, has  an  immense  advantage,  and  her  ladies 
get  so  accustomed  to  tournament  play  that  they 
do  not  in  many  cases  seriously  feel  the  strain. 


ENGLISH   TENNIS 

[The  following  is  a  criticism  of  English  tennis 
written  in  May,  1904.  There  has  not  been  any 
marked  change  in  the  English  game  since  it  was 
written.] 

THE  editor  of  "  Lawn-Tennis "  has  been  good 
enough  to  ask  me  to  state  my  impression  of  the 
game  as  played  in  England. 

Needless  to  say,  I  appreciate  fully  the  compli- 
ment, and  have  much  pleasure  in  acceding  to  his 
request,  but,  in  so  doing,  I  must  confess  that  I 
feel  myself  to  be  in  a  very  delicate  position.  Since 
I  arrived  here  I  have  experienced  at  the  hands  of 
the  tennis-players  of  England,  the  Lawn-Tennis 
Association,  and,  indeed,  every  one  associated 
with  the  game,  such  kindness  and  consideration 
that,  in  dealing  with  the  English  game,  I  can 
hardly  rid  myself  of  the  feeling  that  I  am  sitting 
in  judgment  on  my  hosts'  cigars  or  wine. 

I  believe,  however,  that  it  is  for  the  good  of  the 
game  that  discussion  of  its  finer  points  should  be 
encouraged,  so  that,  if  possible,  the  tactics  and 
practise  of  tennis  may  be  improved ;  so  I  venture 
to  hope  that  I  may  be  excused  if  I  indicate,  with 
all  due  humility,  the  few  points  which  have  most 
imprest  me.  These  are : 

1.  A  stereotyped,  too  diagonal  service. 

204 


ENGLISH   TENNIS  205 

2.  No  attention  is  paid  to  "center-theory." 

3.  Straight  smashing. 

4.  Slowness  in  getting  to  the  net. 

5.  Position  of  striker-out's  partner  in  Doubles. 

6.  Weak  second  service. 

7.  A  marked  tendency  in  Doubles  to  stand  in 
court  and  watch  lobs. 

I  will  deal  with  these  points  in  the  order  named : 
1.  A  stereotyped,  too  diagonal  service.  I  can 
not  help  thinking  that  there  is  far  too  little  variety 
in  the  service,  particularly  as  regards  placing. 
The  pace  and  length  of  the  first  service  are  nearly 
always  good,  but  it  is  so  similar  in  placing,  and 
bound. 

It  is,  especially  in  Doubles,  nearly  always  too 
diagonal.  This  means  that  the  striker-out  very 
frequently  has  the  choice  of  a  drive  down  the 
side-line  from  outside  the  side-line  into  the  corner 
of  his  opponents '  court,  or  else  of  the  sharpest  of 
quick-dropping  cross-«ourt  shots  at  a  most  difficult 
angle  for  the  server,  whereas  if,  for  the  sake  of 
illustration,  he  be  made  to  take  the  service  from, 
say,  6  feet  behind  the  half-court  line  at  the  base- 
line, he  is  completely  robbed  of  an  effective  side- 
line shot,  the  net-man  can  stand  nearer  in  to  the 
center  of  the  court,  and  the  striker-out  is  abso- 
lutely compelled  (if  he  return  it  that  side)  to  hit 
the  ball  back  to  the  server,  as  he  runs  up,  in  a 
much  straighter  line,  instead  of  dropping  it 
sharply  across  the  court  only  a  few  yards  from 


206  MODERN  TENNIS 

the  net;  also,  it  gives  the  man  at  the  net  a  much 
greater  chance  of  stepping  across  and  killing  the 
return,  and  tends  to  make  the  striker-out  search 
for  the  side-lines  in  a  perilous  manner.  It  also, 
to  a  great  extent,  removes  the  doubt,  which  so 
frequently  now  exists,  as  to  who  is  going  to  take 
the  balls  which  go  down  the  center  of  the  court, 
as  the  man  at  the  net  covers  so  much  more  of  it 
on  this  service  than  he  can  when,  on  the  diagonal 
delivery,  his  opponent  has  a  choice  of  both  sides 
of  the  court.  I  always  think,  that  instead  of  the 
service  being  diagonal,  with  straight  ones  for  a 
change,  it  should  be  straight  ones  for  the  general 
run,  with  diagonals  for  a  change.  One  does  not 
prefer  a  cross-court  drive  to  a  straight  one  to  go 
in  on.  Why,  then,  should  this  not  apply  equally 
to  the  service?  I  think  if  any  one  will  take  the 
trouble  to  draw  these  angles  on  a  court  it  will  be 
apparent  that  a  centered  service  is,  particularly 
in  a  Double,  of  much  greater  value  than  the  diag- 
onal one.  Even  when  serving  into  the  backhand 
court  I  repeatedly  give  my  opponent  the  service 
on  his  forehand,  unless  his  stroke  is  something 
very  exceptional.  If  your  service  has  a  good 
length  down  the  center  of  the  court,  and  is  quickly 
followed  to  the  net,  it  is  hard  for  him  to  beat  you 
by  a  drive. 

2.  No  attention  is  paid  to  "center- theory." 
This  is  on  the  same  lines  as  the  first  objection. 
Altho  there  are  a  large  number  of  strokes  played 


ENGLISH   TENNIS  207 

straight  up  and  down  the  court,  players  generally 
choose  a  shot  on  or  near  the  corners,  particularly 
the  backhand  corner,  to  go  in  on.  This  leaves 
both  side-line  and  extreme  diagonal  shots  open, 
whereas  a  well-centered  ball,  with  good  length, 
enables  the  attacking  player  to  get  to  the  middle 
of  the  net  and  halve  the  triangle,  down  one  side 
of  which  the  ball  must  travel  unless  it  is  driven 
straight  at  him  or  lobbed,  and  I  am,  of  course, 
assuming  that  the  stroke  was  good  enough  to  go 
in  on.  Two  minutes  with  a  ruler  and  a  pencil  on 
a  court  drawn  to  scale  will  convince  you  of  the 
value  of  this. 

3.  Straight  smashing.    In  smashing,  especially 
from  behind  the  service-line,  there  seems  to  be  an 
absence  of  "body,"  the  transference  of  weight 
from  leg  to  leg  at  the  critical  moment  (even  when 
it  does  take  place)   is  not  hearty  or  emphatic 
enough,  and  the  arm  is  asked  to  do  too  much; 
also  the  direction  is  frequently  bad,  being  too 
straight  down  court.    By  far  too  large  a  propor- 
tion of  smashes  are  "picked  up"  and  returned. 

4.  Slowness  in  getting  to  the  net.    This  is  more 
accurately  described,  perhaps,  as  running  to  the 
wrong    place,    for    directly    the    service-line    is 
reached,  and  frequently  before,  the  player,  gener- 
ally speaking,  slackens  off,  so  that  he  gets  the 
return  at  his  feet,  instead  of  playing  it  down  over 
the  net. 

5.  Position  of  striker-out's  partner  in  Doubles. 


208  MODERN  TENNIS 

To  my  mind  the  most  serious  defect  in  English 
Doubles  is  the  position  of  the  striker-out's  part- 
ner. He  may  frequently  be  found  about  two  yards 
inside  the  service-line,  sometimes  much  nearer 
the  net.  I  am  very  strong  on  this  point.  In  my 
opinion,  absolutely  the  only  justification  for  this 
position  is  winning  from  it.  When  the  striker- 
out's  partner  is  right  in,  unless  the  striker-out 
is  marvelously  quick  at  getting  up,  anything  that 
his  vis-a-vis  "gets  onto"  goes  clean  across 
through  a  deadly  cross-court  gap.  About  two 
yards  inside  the  service-line  may  be  a  justifiable 
position  for  players  like  the  Dohertys.  The 
striker-out  is  the  sooner  in  the  right  relative 
position  for  Doubles-players,  namely,  in  a  line 
with  each  other,  and  they  can  play  low  volleys  in 
an  inimitable  manner.  The  cross-court  gap  is 
closed,  and  they  have  secured  some  yards  of 
attacking  position,  but  to  how  many  is  it  given 
to  thus  justify  a  position  which,  I  contend,  is  for 
98  per  cent,  of  players  untenable  1  I  watched  this 
carefully  during  the  recent  tournament,  and  at 
Wimbledon  in  1905,  and  was  much  struck  by  the 
utter  helplessness  of  the  striker-out's  partner.  I 
am  certain  this  does  not,  generally  speaking,  pay. 
The  Americans  do  not  believe  in  it.  (I  have 
specially  referred  to  this  point  and  low  volleying 
under  the  chapters  on  "Doubles'*  and  "Person- 
alities." It  is  impossible  to  condemn  the  English 
formation  too  strongly.  Given  pairs  of  equal 


T.   R.   PELL — HORIZONTAL   BACKHAND   DRIVE 

Mr.  Pell  Is  here  shown  coming  onto  the  bull.  See  that  tin-  arm 
and  handle  of  the  racket  are  in  the  same  plane  of  force.  Note 
the  good  footwork  and  that  the  transference  of  weight  is  being 
correctly  made. 

PLATE  41 


ENGLISH   TENNIS  209 

merit,   the   English  formation  must  lose  every 
time.) 

6.  Weak  second  service.    Generally  there  is  a 
fair  length  even  to  this,  but  it  is  frequently  a 
plain,  high-bounding  ball,  which  comes  to  hand 
nicely  for  a  severe  drive,  whereas  with  a  bit  of 
work  its  flight  might  be  rendered  more  deceptive 
and  its  bound  be  kept  lower,  so  that  it  has  to  be 
played  up  instead  of  being  swept  down. 

7.  A  marked  tendency  in  Doubles  to  stand  in 
court  and  watch  lobs.    When  a  lob  is  put  up  there 
is  only  one  of  two  positions  permissible — right  on 
the  net  if  it  be  good  enough,  and  if  it  be  not,  then 
away  out  in  the  "back  blocks"  hoping.    There 
should  be  no  half-way  house,  yet  time  and  again  I 
caught  players  in  the  back  court  gazing  admir- 
ingly at  some  short,  soft  stuff  they  had  tossed 
up,  instead  of,  the  moment  it  had  left  their  rackets, 
and  they  felt  it  was  bad,  racing  for  the  open 
country. 

Speaking  generally  of  the  play,  there  is  a 
marked  tendency  to  play  an  ascending  volley,  even 
when  there  is  plenty  of  time,  and  a  step  forward 
would  make  it  an  overhead  one.  My  motto  about 
volleying  is,  "Never  let  anything  touch  the  earth 
which  you  can  play  conveniently  on  the  volley. 
Never  play  a  volley  underhand  that  you  can  deal 
with  overhead. " 

There  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  paucity  of  strokes 
that  I  could  not  account  for.  I  watched  the 


210  MODERN  TENNIS 

players  most  critically  to  ascertain,  if  possible, 
the  cause  of  this.  I  noticed  especially  the  absence 
of  wrist-work,  and  this  gave  me  a  line.  I  saw 
then  that  many  players  hold  their  thumbs  more 
round  to  the  front  of  the  racket  than  a  great  num- 
ber of  Colonial  players  do.  The  bottom  point  of 
the  V  formed  by  the  spread  of  the  thumb  and  fore- 
finger practically  bisects  lengthwise  the  upper 
side  of  the  handle  of  the  racket,  in  fact,  is  inclined, 
if  anything,  to  go  beyond  the  middle.  I  tried  the 
hold  and  found  it  settled  me  for  wrist-work, 
especially  for  all  cut  services,  but,  of  course,  it 
may  not  be  so  with  most  players. 

The  points  I  admire  about  English  tennis  are 
the  pace  and  length  of  the  first  service,  the  low 
volleying,  which  at  times  is  delightful  to  watch, 
and  in  many  cases  the  half-volleying,  altho  the 
value  of  this  is  discounted  considerably,  as  even 
the  most  finished  exponents  of  the  stroke  do  not 
take  advantage  of,  say,  the  eight  or  ten  feet  saved 
by  it,  to  be  by  so  much  nearer  the  net. 

I  must  add  to  the  other  virtues  of  English  tennis 
accuracy  and  steadiness,  but  I  must  confess  that, 
especially  in  Doubles,  I  would  like  to  see  more 
sting  in  the  work,  and  the  players  making  the 
return  severe  enough  for  them  to  get  their  bete 
noire,  the  lob,  out  of  their  heads,  and  take  up  a 
strong  attacking  position  at  the  net  so  as  to  have 
the  killing  cross-court  angles,  instead  of  having  to 
play  an  ascending  volley  from  near  the  service- 


ENGLISH   TENNIS  211 

line,  which,  naturally,  can  not  be  played  at  a 
severe  pace  or  acute  angle. 

I  might,  perhaps,  also  mention  a  fault  which  is 
exaggerated  in  America,  and  that  is  the  indis- 
criminate running  in  on  the  service.  It  is  just 
as  injudicious  to  run  in  on  a  badly  pitched  or 
placed  service  as  it  is  to  go  up  on  a  poor  return, 
yet  players  consistently  run  in  on  "stuff"  which 
simply  courts  disaster.  If  you  run  in  on  every- 
thing your  opponent  gets  used  to  it.  I  believe  in 
running  in  on  every  suitable  service,  but  I  don't 
do  it  so  that  my  opponent  knows  when  I  am 
coming.  I  think  half  the  art  in  tennis  is  to  keep 
your  man  "guessing"  all  the  tune.  It  is  quite 
useless  to  run  in  on  a  high  bounding,  poor  length, 
diagonal  service.  You  have  some  "hope"  if  it  is 
down  the  center. 

The  lob  is  one  of  the  best  played  strokes  I  have 
seen.  In  its  place  I  admire  it  greatly,  and  I  have 
seen  some  admirable  recoveries  effected  by 
"brainy"  lobs  at  critical  periods. 

Speaking  of  volleying  generally,  I  think  it  lacks 
sting  and  snap,  and  I  ascribe  this,  quite  tenta- 
tively, remember,  to  the  hold  I  notice  to  be  most 
prevalent.  (Since  this  was^  written  I  have  satis- 
fied myself  that  this  defect  is  due  to  the  prevalent 
unchanged  grip.  The  greater  sting  in  the  Ameri- 
can and  Australian  volleying  is  in  this  respect  a 
useful  object-lesson.) 

It  is  wonderful  how  the  characteristics  of  a 


212  MODERN  TENNIS 

nation  impress  themselves  on  a  game.  English 
tennis,  in  my  opinion,  is  very  consistent,  very 
steady,  very  solid,  very  plain  and  above-board, 
too  honest  by  far.  There  is  not  enough  guile  in 
it.  It  seems  to  me  to  lack  many  of  the  fine  wristy 
net-shots,  and  snappy  cross-volleys,  which  are 
such  deadly  scorers,  and  there  seems  a  wonderful 
tendency,  again  characteristic,  to  take  as  little  risk 
as  possible  with  the  side-lines,  especially  when  it 
is  a  case  of  an  overhead  volley. 

These  are  only  the  impressions  of  an  unsophisti- 
cated wanderer,  who  has,  nevertheless,  derived  an 
immense  amount  of  enjoyment  from  watching  and 
playing  tennis  in  every  continent.  I  trust  that 
none  of  my  criticisms  will  be  considered  too 
searching,  and  I  know  that  if,  perchance,  in  the 
mass  of  chaff  there  should  happen  to  be  a  whole 
grain,  it  will  be  utilized. 

I  may  say,  perhaps,  in  conclusion,  that  altho 
I  have  always  realized  the  privilege  and  value  of 
belonging  to  that  grand  freemasonry,  the  brother- 
hood of  sport,  a  gild  which  has  made  my  way 
pleasant  the  world  over — for  the  racket,  the  club, 
the  wheel,  and  the  gun  have  found  me  boon  com- 
panions wherever  I  have  happened  to  be — yet 
never  has  the  value  thereof  been  so  fully  borne 
in  upon  me  as  by  the  tennis-players  of  and  in  dear 
old  England,  and  if  I  ever  take  to  wearing  a  badge 
I  think  it  will  be  a  tennis-racket. 

P.  A.  VAILB. 


T.   R.    PELL — HORIZONTAL   BACKHAND    DKIVK 

This  Is  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  position  referred  to  in 
the  text.  Mr.  I'ell  is  caught  out  of  position,  the  ball  almost 
coming  at  his  body,  but  the  stroke  presents  no  difficulty  to  him. 
It  would  be  practically  impossible  with  the  Kngllsh  jtrlp. 

PLATE  42 


PERSONALITIES 

I  AM  'afraid  nature  was  in  one  respect  at  least 
unkind  to  me.  She  made  me  a  notice-taking  crea- 
ture, and  later  on,  when  I  met  and  became  rather 
intimate  with  Sherlock  Holmes,  the  habit  grew 
and  I  took  pains  to  cultivate  it.  I  soon  tired  of 
Holmes,  tho.  He  was  a  patronizing  wretch,  and 
his  '  *  My  dear  Vaile,  have  you  read  my  monograph 
on  the  value  of  silkworms  for  producing  clues  in 
the  detection  of  crime,"  and  so  on,  palled  after  a 
while.  It  was  a  monolog  on  monographs,  but  I 
must  give  him  his  due;  the  habit  of  observation 
remained.  Added  to  this,  I  was  always,  and  am 
still,  hypercritically  inclined,  indeed,  I  come  from 
a  quarter  of  the  globe  where  one  is  not  readily 
stirred  to  enthuse,  unless  the  object  really  be 
worthy  of  enthusiasm — and  then  it's  an  awful  job 
to  start  it  going  with  anything  less  than  a  Boer 
War  or  a  football-match.  These  remarks  are  by 
way  of  apology  for  criticizing  the  " eminent  men" 
whose  names  appear  hereafter,  but  as  it  is  all  in 
the  interest  of  sport,  and  they  are  all  in  the  truest 
and  best  sense  sportsmen,  I  feel  sure  that  if  they 
should  desire  any  satisfaction,  they  will  do  noth- 
ing worse  than  "take  it  out  of  me"  across  a  net- 
also  they  must  remember  that  he  who  climbs  high 
is  easily  seen — even  in  the  tennis-world. 

213 


214  MODERN  TENNIS 

In  dealing  with  individuals  one  naturally  takes 
H.  L.  Doherty  first.  It  is  his  due.  I  may  say  at 
once  that  of  all  the  men  I  have  seen  of  late  years, 
H.  L.  Doherty  most  nearly  fills  my  idea  of  a 
perfect  singles-player,  and  yet  I  think  his  tactics 
are  unsound  in  some  ways.  I  am  not  one  who 
worships  success,  and  a  man  may  be  champion  of 
the  world — and  yet  have  serious  blemishes  in  his 
game.  Mr.  Doherty  is  neither  "a  wild  rusher" 
nor  "a  base-line  wanderer,"  nor  yet  can  I  call  him 
an  absolutely  judicious  combination  of  the  two. 
He  goes  in  on  nearly  every  service,  on  many  which 
I  could  not  pass  as  having  sting  or  length  enough 
to  justify  such  a  proceeding  were  his  opponent  his 
equal,  and  even  as  it  is,  he  is  too  often  passed.  I 
can  not  help  thinking  that  both  in  singles  and 
doubles  he  stays  too  far  away  from  the  net.  Cer- 
tainly he  plays  low  volleys,  too  many  of  them, 
from  his  feet  with  a  lovely  stroke  and  great  pre- 
cision, but  such  a  shot  can  not  have  any  telling 
angle  or  pace  on  it.  If  he  were  up  against  his 
equal,  and  had  to,  as  he  then  would,  choose  his 
opportunity  to  go  up,  and  was  taught  by  a  few 
object  lessons  that  waiting  a  little  inside  the  serv- 
ice-line is  not  the  best  place  in  the  court,  I  should 
think  he  would  go  very  near  to  playing  perfect 
tennis.  His  tennis  virtues  are  too  well  known  to 
the  public  to  require  any  remarks  from  me.  I 
may,  however,  say  that  the  secret  of  his  very  fine 
game  is  undoubtedly  timing  and  the  perfectly 


PERSONALITIES  215 

harmonious  action  of  body  and  limbs.  He  gets 
every  ounce  out  of  his  stroke  without  much  ap- 
parent effort.  He  makes  his  body  do  its  share  of 
the  work.  How  few  really  do  this,  or  even  realize 
its  importance !  Imagine  trying  to  hit  a  man  with 
your  body  still  and  using  only  arm-action.  You 
want  your  body  to  be  in  your  work,  particularly 
in  smashing.  Just  here,  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  altho  Messrs.  Doherty  strongly  advise  play- 
ers to  "make  your  opponents  volley  up;  be  your- 
self ALWAYS  in  a  position  to  hit  down,"  there  are 
probably  no  two  players  in  the  world  who  play 
more  ascending  volleys. 

However,  this  advice  is  the  essence  of  volleying 
wisdom,  and  the  latter  sentence  is  the  quint- 
essence, for  to  carry  it  out  you  must  be  where  I 
am  always  insisting  that  you  shall  go,  directly 
you  get  a  good  chance,  and  that  is  right  up  at  the 
net. 

I  had  nearly  forgotten  to  refer  to  Mr.  Doherty 's 
length.  I  was  very  disappointed.  He  rarely 
pitched  a  ball  within  four  feet  of  the  base-line, 
indeed,  so  noticeable  was  this  that  I  asked  him  if 
he  had  any  object  in  keeping  that  length,  when 
he  assured  me  that  he  considered  it  was  good 
enough.  I  do  not.  If  he  kept  that  length  against 
his  equal,  his  opponent  would  have  so  much  less 
ground  to  cover  every  time  to  get  into  position 
at  the  net.  This  would  mean  a  lot  of  saving  in 
exertion  in  five  sets,  let  alone  the  tactical  advan- 


216  MODERN  TENNIS 

tages.  I  noticed  also  that  his  returns  were  gener- 
ally pretty  straight  down  the  court.  It  seemed  to 
me  he  was  taking  no  risks,  either  with  the  side- 
lines or  the  base-lines,  and  this  is  where  the  center- 
theory  must  save  you  many  an  ace.  You  only 
have  length  to  worry  about. 

These  criticisms  were  written,  as  is  well  known 
to  many  tennis-players,  long  before  the  Covered 
Courts  Championships  were  decided.  The  final 
for  the  singles  quite  proved — to  my  satisfaction 
at  least — the  soundness  of  my  contentions  about 
H.  L.  Doherty's  tactics.  On  the  day  he  met 
Ritchie  he  was  undoubtedly  off  his  game.  This 
brought  him  into  Ritchie's  class,  and  Ritchie's 
tactics  on  the  day  being  quite  as  good  as  the 
Champion's,  it  was  anybody's  match,  and  had 
Ritchie  possest  the  temperament  of  the  winner 
the  result  might  even  have  been  the  other  way.* 

I  am  dealing  very  plainly  with  H.  L.  Doherty's 
theory.  To  praise  his  execution  when  in  form  is 
to  gild  refined  gold,  but  even  at  the  risk  of  being 
thought  severe  I  will  maintain  that  that  execution 
is  worthy  of  better  theory  and  tactics. 

I  have  not  said  anything  about  demeanor  in 
court  and  so  on.  To  those  who  play  tennis  it 
should  be  unnecessary,  but  there  are  a  few  who 


*  Many  months  after  this  was  published  Mr.  Ritchie  fairly 
and  squarely  beat  Mr.  H.  L.  Doherty  at  Queen's  Club,  mainly 
on  account  of  the  defects  in  the  champion's  tactics  which  I 
have  referred  to. 


T.   R.   PELL — HORIZONTAL   BACKHAND   DRIVE 

This  shows  the  stroke  a  stage  further.  The  racket  is  ascend- 
ing slightly.  The  face  is  laid  hack  a  little,  but  by  the  time  it 
reaches  the  ball  it  will  be  practically  vertical.  Note  that  Mr. 
Pell  holds  the  leather  of  the  racket  in  his  hand. 

PLATE  43 


PERSONALITIES  217 

might  with  much  advantage  take  an  example  from 
H.  L.  Doherty,  always,  outwardly,  at  least,  un- 
ruffled, calmly  accepting  wrong  decisions  and 
allowing  nothing  to  worry  him.  This  tells ;  make 
no  mistake  about  it.  Getting  savage  is  only  pro- 
viding cheap  amusement  for  the  gallery,  and  put- 
ting yourself  off  your  game. 

I  hope  it  will  not  be  thought  that  I  am  dealing 
too  severely  with  Mr.  Doherty 's  game;  I  am 
taking  him  as  the  ablest  and  most  finished  prac- 
tical exponent  of  the  single  game  that  I  know,  and 
I  am  dissecting  that  game  for  the  benefit  of  the 
game. 

Anything  I  can  say  of  H.  L.  Doherty 's  game  I 
think  I  might  'almost  say  for  his  brother,  E.  F. 
Doherty.  His  strokes  are  all  very  fine,  and,  con- 
sidering his  grip,  it  is  a  wonder  to  me  how  he 
gets  them.  His  service  is  very  good,  and  his  sec- 
ond service  the  best  I  know.  I  have  not  seen  him 
"all  out"  in  a  single.  I  should  like  to  see  the  two 
brothers  have  a  "real  go."  I  would  miss  my 
luncheon  for  it — if  necessary. 

E.  F.  and  H.  L.  Doherty  form  without  doubt  a 
very  fine  combination.  I  think,  however,  that 
even  more  in  the  double  than  in  the  single  is  the 
low- volleying  defect  noticeable.  The  answer  may 
be,  "It  is  their  game,  and  it  has  succeeded."  This 
does  not  bother  me  a  trifle.  What  I  am  worrying 
about  is,  whether  it  is  the  right  one  or  not,  and  the 
one  most  suitable  for  the  majority  of  players,  and 


218  MODERN  TENNIS 

most  calculated  to  make  the  game  brilliant,  scien- 
tific, and  most  popular ;  and  frankly  I  do  not  think 
it  is.  It  is  apparent  that  the  Dohertys  are  at 
present  a  little  away  from  the  others,  and  I  could 
not  get  it  out  of  my  head  that  they,  as  indeed  is 
natural,  take  liberties  with  the  game.* 

F.  L.  Riseley  was  runner-up  for  the  Champion- 
ship in  1905.  I  was  much  pleased  with  his  play, 
altho  he  spoiled  his  backhand  to  a  great  extent 
by  playing  the  shot  off  the  wrong  leg.  He  mixes 
his  game  well,  generally  speaking,  altho  he  very 
often  neglects  a  good  opening,  and  then  goes  up 
on  an  inferior  one.  He  has  a  fine,  fast,  first  serv- 
ice, but  does  not  vary  it  much. 

A.  W.  Gore  is  a  base-line  player.  His  strong 
point  is  his  forehand  drive,  which  off  a  high  bound- 
ing ball  is  very  fine.  He  won  the  Championship 
of  England  in  1901.f  He  rarely  or  never  volleys, 
for  which  I  can  hardly  forgive  him,  as  under  com- 
pulsion and  force  of  expostulation  I  have  seen  him 
execute  some  paralyzing  smashes  from  the  back 
court,  and  when  forced  to  in  a  double  he  acquits 
himself  really  well,  using  his  forehand  drive  fre- 
quently and  with  great  effect  as  a  volley. 


*  It  was  precisely  this  taking  of  liberties,  particularly  in 
the  matter  of  the  striker-out's  partner  standing  near  the  net, 
that  cost  them  their  match  against  the  Australian  pair.  They 
did  not  reproduce  this  error  against  the  Americans,  Messrs. 
Ward  and  Wright,  and  just  won  after  a  hard  five-set  match. 
Playing  in  their  usual  formation  they  would  certainly  have  lost 
the  match. 

t  He  has  since  won  it  twice. 


PERSONALITIES  219 

S.  H.  Smith  is  another  player  of  the  same  stamp 
as  Gore.  He  has  a  great  forehand  o!rive.  He 
rarely  volleys,  but  when  he  does,  uses  his  drive 
with  great  eff ect. 

Smith  and  Riseley  have  the  distinction  of  being 
the  only  pair  who  have  ever  beaten  the  Dohertys 
for  the  Doubles  Championship  of  England.  They 
annexed  this  event  in  1902,  and,  several  years 
later,  in  a  memorable  match,  again  defeated  the 
Dohertys  in  the  final. 

Mr.  E.  G.  Meers,  who  won  the  Covered  Courts 
Championship  of  England  in  1892,  does  not  now 
take  an  active  part  in  tournament  play,  altho  he 
is  still  quite  a  "tough  proposition.'*  He  did  not 
start  tennis  until  late  in  life,  but  he  brought  to 
bear  on  it  an  amount  of  thought  and  a  rare  in- 
sight into  the  game,  which  few  have  either  the 
power  or  the  application  to  do.  The  result  was 
that  he  developed  a  very  fine  game,  and  to  this 
day  he  stands  out  in  my  mind  as  one  of  the  very 
finest  tacticians,  if  not,  indeed,  the  finest  that  I 
have  ever  seen.  To  see  him  working  for  his  op- 
portunity, and  when  it  came,  getting  in  and  set- 
tling matters,  was  quite  sufficient  to  answer  the 
question,  "Is  tennis  a  'brainy*  game!" 

G.  A.  Caridia,  Champion  of  Wales,  is  without 
doubt  the  finest  half-volleyer  in  England.  He 
also  plays  a  rising  ball  very  well.  He  has  ascer- 
tained the  fact  that  a  rising  ball  requires  the  blade 
of  the  racket  to  be  at  a  suitable  angle  to  correct 


220  MODERN  TENNIS 

the  ascending  tendency;  many  of  his  half- volleys 
are  wonderful,  and  always  a  pretty  stroke,  he 
makes  it  in  many  cases  a  beautiful  one.  He  plays 
a  good  backhand  volley,  but  his  service  is  not  too 
strong.  He  rarely  if  ever  takes  advantage  of  the 
time  he  gains  by  his  half -volley  to  be,  by  so  much, 
nearer  to  the  net.  This,  of  course,  considerably 
discounts  the  value  of  the  stroke. 

George  "W.  Hillyard,  after  a  considerable  ab- 
sence from  the  list  of  champions,  joined  the  roll 
of  honor  again  in  1905  by  annexing,  with  H.  L. 
Doherty,  the  Covered  Courts  Doubles  Champion- 
ship of  England.  He  was  hampered  by  a  weak 
leg,  the  result  of  sciatica,  but  nevertheless  he 
played  a  good  game.  He  went  for  his  smashes  in 
a  determined  manner,  and  put  many  of  them  away 
in  a  style  that  pleased  me  very  much,  albeit  he 
could  not,  on  account  of  his  leg,  use  his  body 
weight  with  advantage.  His  service  is  distinctly 
good  and  he  evidently  understands  the  value  of 
centering  it.  He  very  rarely  lost  his  service 
during  the  tournament.  His  great  reach  makes 
him  very  difficult  to  get  away  from.  I  have  not 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  play  a  single,  but 
from  his  strokes  should  judge  that  he  would  play 
a  fine  game. 

M.  J.  G.  Ritchie  is  a  curiously  even  player. 
There  are  no  very  pronounced  faults  in  his  game, 
neither  is  there  much  to  call  for  special  mention, 
yet  on  occasions  he  puts  up  a  very  fine  game.  His 


PERSONALITIES  221 

smash  from  behind  the  service-line  is  nearly  all 
arm  work  and  consequently  never  severe.  With 
a  greater  knowledge  of  tactics  and  a  cultivation 
of  that  essential  to  success  in  tennis,  equanimity, 
Ritchie  might  easily  be  classed  Al  at  Lloyd's. 

There  are  many  other  fine  players  who  are  quite 
worthy  of  mention,  but  space  forbids,  and  I  have 
here  just  mentioned  the  few  who  have  occurred  to 
me  as  being  of  special  interest  by  reason  of  their 
achievements,  and  on  account  of  special  strokes. 


HOW  AMERICA  CAN   REGAIN  THE 
DAVIS  CUP 

TENNIS  unquestionably  is  the  most  popular 
game  that  is  played.  Its  spread  has  been,  and  is, 
amazing.  Nowhere  is  this  more  apparent  than 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  nowhere  are 
there  so  many  fine  young  players  as  there  are  in 
this  country.  Yet  the  United  States  of  America 
have  recently  lost  the  Davis  Cup,  the  international 
blue  ribbon  of  the  game. 

It  will  be  profitable  to  inquire  why  we  lost  it, 
and  how  we  may  regain  it. 

Briefly,  it  may  be  said  that  America  lost  the 
Davis  Cup  through  lack  of  form,  and  that  she  may, 
and  almost  certainly  can,  regain  it  by  paying  more 
attention  to  correct  form. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  waste  time  in  im- 
pressing on  American  athletes  the  value  of  form. 
The  wonderful  position  that  they  occupy  in  the 
world  of  sport  may  almost  wholly  be  attributed 
to  their  remarkable  ability  in  studying  the 
minutest  details  which  tend  to  produce  the  best 
results  with  the  least  possible  waste  of  energy. 

In  the  comparisons  made  herein  it  must  be 
understood  that  international  form  and  the  highest 
degree  of  that  is  being  considered,  for  nothing 
less  than  that  will  be  of  service  to  America  in  the 
task  which  is  in  front  of  her. 

222 


THE   DAVIS   CUP  223 

There  is  an  amazing  number  of  fine  young 
tennis-players  springing  up  in  America,  but  the 
majority  of  them  lack  form  in  some  important 
respect. 

This  lack  of  form  springs  in  almost  every  case 
from  ignorance  of  the  theory  of  the  game.  Tennis 
is  such  a  remarkably  difficult  game  to  play  well, 
that  if  one  trusts  to  what  one  can  learn  of  one's 
own  observation  on  the  court,  one  is  likely  to  be 
too  old  to  play  the  game  before  one  knows  it 
thoroughly. 

This  may  sound  like  exaggeration.  Let  me  give 
an  illustration.  Maurice  E.  McLoughlin,  one  of 
the  finest  young  players  in  the  world,  went  back 
to  California  last  year,  after  nine  years  of  play- 
ing the  game,  defeated,  instead  of  being  three 
times  in  succession  national  champion,  because  his 
form  off  the  ground  is  unworthy  of  the  rest  of  his 
game. 

It  simply  amounts  to  this.  McLoughlin 's  game, 
despite  his  brilliant  performances,  is  unbalanced. 
He  has  only  developed  one  side  of  it,  the  service 
and  the  volley.  So  long  as  McLoughlin  has  to 
deal  with  a  ball  in  the  air  he  is  quite  at  home  and 
as  good  as  the  best,  provided  it  is  not  too  low,  but 
when  he  has  to  deal  with  a  ball  that  comes  off  the 
ground,  he  is  another  man. 

Let  nobody  think  that  there  is  herein  any  at- 
tempt to  depreciate  McLoughlin 's  game.  I  have 
a  very  sincere  admiration  for  that  and  for  Amer- 


224  MODERN  TENNIS 

ica's  young  athlete  himself,  but  empty  flattery  is 
of  no  use  to  any  one. 

McLoughlin's  ground-strokes  are  not  sound 
enough  or  varied  enough.  He  has  practically  no 
backhand,  and  off  the  low  ball  his  forehand  is 
very  weak.  He  can  drive  a  high  ball — such  as 
those  with  which  Wilding  persistently  provided 
him  at  the  last  Davis  Cup  matches — very  well, 
as  Wilding,  to  his  discomfiture,  ascertained. 

There  has  been  much  unwholesome  adulation 
of  McLoughlin's  play,  but  he  is,  I  feel  sure,  too 
sensible  and  too  modest  to  be  harmed  by  it ;  more- 
over, I  happen  to  know  that  McLoughlin  realizes 
as  well  as  I  do  his  lamentable  weakness  on  the 
backhand,  and  that  he  will  make  a  vigorous  effort 
to  repair  that  defect  before  next  championship 
meeting. 

The  morning  McLoughlin  left  New  York  to 
compete  in  the  World's  Championship  at  Wim- 
bledon, England,  I  went  down  to  see  him.  He  was 
staying  a  few  doors  from  me.  This  is  what  I  said 
to  him:  "Mac,  I  want  to  say  two  things  to  you 
about  your  play,  because  I  should  like  to  see  you 
win  this  time.  It  is  about  time  America  won,  but, 
if  you  are  going  to  do  it,  you  must  watch  your 
feet.  They  will  let  you  go  till  the  final,  and  then 
foot-fault  you  and  throw  you  off  your  game ;  and, 
for  goodness'  sake,  get  a  backhand,  for  they'll 
pound  you  on  that." 

It  came  out  exactly  as  I  told  him  it  would. 


THE  DAVIS   CUP 


225 


Now,  in  view  of  McLoughlin's  fine  perform- 
ance in  the  Davis  Cup  singles,  when  he  beat 
both  Brookes  and  Wilding,  it  might  reasonably 
be  asked:  "How  can  one  say  his  form  was 
wrong?" 


FlGUBE  30 

M.  E.  McLouoHLiN  PLAYING  A  FOREHAND  DRIVE.    TAKEN  PROM 
A  PHOTOGRAPH  ILLUSTRATING  His  FORM 

Notice  the  position  of  the  feet,  which  is  entirely  wrong,  the 
right  foot  being  in  front  instead  of  the  left.  McLoughlin's  foot- 
work is,  however,  not  so  bad  on  the  forehand  as  on  the  backhand. 
The  worst  defect  shown  here  is  the  hold  of  the  racket.  This  hold 
is  the  cause  of  McLoughlin's  weakness  at  driving  or  returning  all 
low  balls  on  the  forehand.  It  is  quite  unsuitable  for  these  strokes, 
and  is  apt  to  turn  over  too  soon,  thus  putting  the  ball  into  the  net. 
For  driving  a  high-bounding  ball  it  is  not  so  bad. 


226  MODERN  TENNIS 

The  answer  is  that  he  showed  his  lack  of  form 
principally  not  in  either  of  those  matches,  but  in 
the  doubles,  on  which  hinged  the  result  of  the 
contest. 

Naturally,  he  was  suffering  somewhat  from  his 
exertion  against  Brookes,  but  off  the  ground  he 
was  very  weak,  and  the  main  reason  for  his  lack 
of  form  here  was  that  his  theory  of  the  forehand 
drive  is  quite  wrong. 

What  I  am  writing  now  I  have  said  to  Mc- 
Loughlin,  and  he  knows  well  that  it  is  true,  and 
probably  many  of  my  readers  will  see  that  it  is. 

Three  times  I  have  seen  McLoughlin  in  trying 
to  drive  a  ball  from  a  few  feet  outside  the  base- 
line, hit  it  ont^  the  court  before  it  reached  the 
service-line. 

This  ball,  if  it  could  have  continued  its  course, 
would  have  passed  about  six  feet  below  the  net, 
so  McLoughlin 's  error  was  only  about  nine  feet 
six  inches  in  a  distance  of  about  forty-five  feet ! 

We  are  entitled  to  expect  more  accuracy  than 
this  from  an  international  player. 

Directly  I  saw  this  I  knew  that  McLoughlin  was 
trying  to  produce  his  forehand  drive  in  very  bad 
form,  in  fact,  that  he  was  trying  to  give  it  top 
by  turning  the  racket  over  it  at  the  moment  of 
impact,  and  by  trying  to  cut  up  behind  the  ball 
far  too  much,  instead  of  following  his  stroke 
through  more. 

Several    times    in   the    international   matches 


THE  DAVIS  CUP  227 

McLoughlin  hit  the  ball  on  the  wood  and  skied  it 
nearly  out  of  the  enclosure.  If  there  had  been 
any  doubt  in  my  mind  this  would  have  settled 
it.  He  was  trying  to  produce  his  stroke  in  a  way 
that  was  absolutely  opposed  to  all  good  form  and 
consequently  he  fell  down,  for  such  a  method  is 
bad  enough  on  a  high  bounding  ball,  but  abso- 
lutely fatal  on  a  low  bound. 

McLoughlin  further  confirmed  my  diagnosis  of 
his  stroke  after  every  failure  he  made,  for,  as  the 
golfer  "goes  through  the  motions"  after  a  bad 
stroke,  so  did  McLoughlin.  Closely  observing 
his  action,  one  could  see  that  he  brought  his  racket 
up  and  around  too  much,  and  not  forward  enough. 
In  a  word  the  follow  through  was  defective. 

McLoughlin  was  trying  for  a  quick-dropping 
ball  in  the  doubles,  for  he  wanted  the  cross-court 
passing  shots  that  were  not  so  necessary  in  the 
singles,  and  he  overdid  it.  His  want  of  form 
found  him  out. 

The  foundation  of  tennis  is  the  ground-game, 
and  unless  a  player  has  that,  he  has  built  his 
house  on  a  rotten  base.  A  real  champion  should, 
to  borrow  the  language  of  the  prize-ring,  have  "a 
punch  in  each  hand,"  in  other  words,  he  should 
have  a  drive  on  both  forehand  and  backhand.  It 
is  not  as  tho  these  strokes  were  unknown.  We 
have  in  tennis  splendid  examples  of  each  stroke. 
Surely,  one  who  has  developed  his  service  and 
volleying  so  splendidly  as  McLoughlin  has,  is  not 


228  MODERN  TENNIS 

going  to  confess  that  he  can  not  master  the  theory 
of  the  backhand  stroke ;  and  once  he  has  the  theory 
the  rest  should  be  simple. 

Now,  in  speaking  thus  of  McLoughlin,  who, 
really,  despite  his  lack  of  form  in  the  ground- 
game,  has  done  some  very  remarkable  things,  one 
might  be  laying  oneself  open  to  severe  criticism 
unless  one  were  well  fortified. 

This  is  not  any  matter  of  imagination.  This  is 
a  matter  of  ascertained  fact.  So  that  there  may 
be  no  doubt  of  the  truth  and  force  of  my  criticism 
in  this  matter,  I  must  relate  a  conversation  that 
I  had  with  McLoughlin  not  long  ago. 

Now,  let  it  be  known,  McLoughlin  is  only  too 
willing  to  learn.  He  is  a  very  sensible  young 
man,  and  quite  unspoiled  by  his  success  at  tennis. 

He  came  to  see  me  a  day  or  two  after  his  defeat 
by  E.  N.  Williams  2nd,  at  Newport.  We  drifted 
into  a  discussion  of  the  strokes  of  the  game,  and 
I  asked  McLoughlin  how  he  played  a  low  back- 
hand drive.  He  showed  me. 

He  had  not  his  fore-arm  in  line  with  the  handle, 
and  I  pointed  out  to  him  that  it  was  quite  natural 
that,  playing  the  stroke  in  that  way,  he  should 
put  so  many  of  them  into  the  net. 

McLoughlin's  answer  was:  "It's  not  that 
stroke  I  am  worrying  about.  I  want  to  get  that 
one  up  here,  so  that  I  can  command  the  return  of 
the  service,"  and  he  indicated  a  return  off  a  high- 
bounding  ball  above  his  shoulder. 


T.  R.  PELL — HORIZONTAL  BACKHAND   I>I:IVK 

Here  we  see  Mr.  Pell's  vigorous  linisli.  The  racket-Cure  now 
is  horizontal  Instead  of  vertical.  Observe  carefully  Mr.  Pell's 
grip,  which  is  the  same  as  mine.  The  end  of  the  handle  Is  In  his 
hand.  Compare  this  grip  with  mine  in  Plate  ::i. 

PLATE  45 


THE   DAVIS   CUP  229 

I  said:  "My  dear  Mac,  if  you  will  allow  me 
to  play  a  backhand  overhead  smash,  and  will  then 
hang  me  up  by  the  heels  to  the  ceiling  and  see 
me  play  the  same  stroke  you  won't  know  it  from 
a  low  backhand  drive.  The  fact  is  that  there  is 
only  one  proper  method  of  producing  the  back- 
hand stroke.  Where  the  stroke  happens  to  be 
made  is  only  a  question  of  which  point  of  the  com- 
pass it  is  moving  in  on  the  half  circle  that  the 
backhand  covers.  The  stroke  is  identical  in  its 
principle  throughout  the  whole  of  the  backhand 
side,  be  it  low  drive,  horizontal  drive  or  overhead 
smash";  and  there  can  not  be  the  least  doubt  that 
this  is  so. 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  a  great  handicap  even 
such  a  player  as  McLoughlin  suffers  from  in  not 
knowing  the  theory  of  the  stroke. 

How  much  greater  is  this  the  case  with  thou- 
sands of  young  players  who  are  following  in  his 
footsteps,  and,  so  far  as  this  beautiful  and  effec- 
tive stroke  is  concerned,  following  blindly. 

The  way  in  which  McLoughlin  was  forced  out 
of  the  court  in  the  recent  Davis  Cup  matches  in 
order  to  cover  up  his  weakness  on  the  backhand, 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  I  have 
ever  seen  in  first-class  tennis.  The  national  cham- 
pion did  not  dare  to  play  the  ball  in  the  orthodox 
way. 

Next  season  there  will,  I  hope,  be  a  different 
tale  to  tell. 


230  MODERN  TENNIS 

McLougHin  himself  is  a  good  example  of  form 
in  so  far  as  regards  his  service  and  smash. 
These  are  both  produced  in  a  manner  which  is 
almost  mechanically  perfect.  In  his  service,  des- 
pite his  immense  pace,  his  action  is  smooth  and 
graceful,  and  he  does  not  take  half  so  much  out  of 
himself  as  do  some  other  players  whose  service  is 
very  similar  to  his  in  its  production. 

One  Californian,  by  comparison  with  Mc- 
Loughlin,  is  almost  a  contortionist.  His  service 
falls  right  across  his  abdominal  muscles,  and  the 
pounding  they  get  is  fearful.  It  is  small  wonder 
that  he  suffers  from  it. 

McLoughlin's  form  in  the  smash  should  be 
emulated.  He  throws  his  whole  body  at  the 
ball,  which  is  the  only  proper  way  to  smash.  Eng- 
lish players  stand  still  and  hit  overhead  with  the 
arm  working  like  a  railway  semaphore.  Apart 
from  this  being  less  severe,  it  is  less  accurate,  for 
it  requires  much  more  skilful  timing  than  if  the 
body  is  moving  forward  onto  the  ball. 

K.  Norris  Williams  2nd  lost  both  his  matches 
in  the  last  Davis  Cup  contest.  He  started  well 
against  Wilding,  but  fell  to  pieces  afterward  and 
was  badly  beaten,  while  against  Brookes  his  utter 
absence  of  even  the  semblance  of  form  in  the  first 
two  sets  was  quite  painful,  and  it  was  almost  as 
bad  in  the  fourth.  In  the  third  set  he  showed  some 
very  good  form,  but,  as  is  usual  with  him,  it  was 
not  sustained. 


THE   DAVIS   CUP  231 

Williams  has  two  very  serious  defects  in  hi .5 
game.  One  is  distinctly  bad  form,  and  the  other 
must,  I  think,  according  to  the  requirements  of 
the  modern  game,  be  also  classed  as  a  defect  of 
that  nature. 

First,  he  holds  his  racket  wrongly  on  the 
backhand  and  plays  the  stroke  nearly  always  with 
his  feet  out  of  position.  This  leaves  him  facing 
the  net  when  striking  the  ball,  and  it  is  without 
question  the  worst  possible  form. 

The  second  defect  in  Williams 's  game  is  that 
he  trusts  to  a  trajectory  which  is  practically  un- 
assisted by  spin.  Naturally,  he  has  to  try  to  play 
very  close  to  the  net  all  the  time.  Very  naturally, 
also,  he  puts  his  ball  into  it  far  too  often. 

S.  H.  Smith,  the  famous  English  forehand 
driver,  did  the  same.  When  on  his  game  he  was 
simply  a  "terror'*  (I  shall  never  forget  his  piti- 
less driving  the  day  he  beat  Holcombe  Ward  set- 
less  at  Wimbledon),  but  when  he  is  off — he  is  off. 

McLoughlin's  perfect  command  of  over-spin 
enables  him  to  get  just  enough  drop  to  prevent  his 
throwing  away  the  innumerable  points  in  double 
faults  that  come  so  naturally  to  Williams.  This 
is  where  form  comes  in. 

Speaking  of  his  match  against  Brookes,  Wil- 
liams said  to  me  that  he  was  "hitting  the  tape  all 
the  time."  So  he  was,  for  so  must  the  player  do 
who  drives  low  without  any  spin,  unless  he  is  an 
A.  W.  Gore  or  an  S.  H.  Smith,  and  there  are  not 
many  of  them. 


232 


MODERN  TENNIS 


Nothing  is  gained  by  "risking  the  net"  in  a 
single  unless  one  is  being  attacked,  and  has  to 
play  a  passing  shot.  The  net  is  quite  our  worst 
antagonist,  and  we  should  always  play  as  far 
away  from  it  as  we  can  without  interfering  with 
the  efficacy  of  the  shot. 

When  "Wilding  was  in  his  best  form  he  regu- 
larly drove  a  foot  and  eighteen  inches  above  the 


E.  N.  Williams,  2d,  National 
Champion,  at  the  end  of  his 
backward  swing  in  the  back- 
hand stroke.  This  is  reproduced 
from  a  photograph.  Note  that 
the  wrong  foot  is  in  front, 
which  twists  his  bodj  out  of 
shape  and  limits  his  backward 
swing. 


FIGURE  31 
E.  N.  WILLIAMS,  2o 


net  with  plenty  of  top-spin  that  brought  the  ball 
down  near  the  base-line  and  gave  a  good  long 
bound.  This  is  much  better  form  than  trusting  to 


THE   DAVIS   CUP 


pace  and  a  flat  drive,  and  be  it  remembered  that 
the  forehand  drive  is  the  foundation  of  the  game. 
It  can  not  possibly  be  considered  good  form  to 
take  unnecessary  risks.  'Williams  is  taking  them 
all  the  time,  and  he  pays  for  doing  so. 

The  consequence  of  his  bad  foot-work  and  his 
low  return  against  Brookes 's  heavily  cut  service 
was  that  for  the  first  and  second  sets  he  looked 


E.  N.  Williams,  2d,  National 
Champion,  half-way  through  a 
backhand  stroke.  Note  that  his 
feet  are  still  wrong,  as  they 
nearly  always  are.  Compare 
these  illustrations  with  Mr. 
Pell's  fine  foot-work.  It  is 
almost  incredible,  but  is  the 
fact,  that  these  two  pictures 
were  used  by  a  tennis-journalist 
in  a  New  York  magazine  as  an 
illustration  of  good  form  on  the 
backhand.  It  would  be  almost 
impossible  to  get  two  more 
striking  instances  of  bad  form, ..  _ 
and  so  long  as  Williams  per- 
sists in  playing  like  this,  he  will 
suffer  disastrous — and,  to  him, 
unexpected — reverses,  such  as  he 
met  with  in  the  Davis  Cup  and 
the  intercollegiate  champion- 
ship. 


FIGURE  32 
E.  N.  WILLIAMS,  2o 


like  a  mere  novice  instead  of  an  international 
player. 
Brookes 's  photographs  show  in  what  an  effort- 


234  MODERN  TENNIS 

less  manner  he  produces  his  service.  A  com- 
parison of  his  methods  with  those  of  some  of  the 
younger  players,  as  disclosed  by  photographs, 
will  show  what  a  fearful  waste  of  energy  there  is 
in  some  of  these  spectacular  services. 

It  will  probably  be  asked  how  players  are  to 
acquire  correct  form  at  tennis.  The  answer  is 
by  learning  the  correct  theory  of  the  game  and 
the  production  of  the  strokes,  and  then  by  model- 
ing their  strokes  on  those  of  the  best  exponents 
of  the  game,  who  express  in  their  actions  and  the 
result  thereof  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the 
judicious  blending  of  theory  and  practise. 

In  tennis  the  strokes  should  be  as  clear-cut  and 
well  defined  as  they  are  in  golf.  They  should,  in 
fact,  be  standardized,  and  their  production,  both 
theoretically  and  practically,  should  be  taught  in- 
telligently. 

At  one  of  the  leading  clubs  in  America  I  once 
saw  a  perfectly  stupid  fellow  getting  two  dollars 
an  hour  for  spoiling  his  pupils'  prospects.  This 
is  no  use  to  America.  She  has  good  tuition  in 
other  branches  of  athletics.  If  she  wants  to  win 
at  tennis  she  must  have  it  in  that  game  also. 

It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  wonder  to  me 
that  there  is  such  chaos  in  the  strokes  in  tennis, 
for  surely  America  has  produced  some  players 
worthy  of  being  followed.  W.  A.  Larned  was  one 
of  the  soundest  stroke-players  in  the  world,  and 
he  had  seven  championships  of  the  United  States 


T.  R.  PELL — BACKHAND  DRIVE  OFF  HK;H   HOUND 

I  am  frequently  asked  how  to  play  a  high-hounding  Itall  on 
the  backhand.  This  picture  shows  how  naturally  this  hold  can 
be  used  for  this  stroke,  or,  indeed,  for  a  l>!ill  that  Is  much  higher. 

PLATE  46 


THE   DAVIS   CUP  235 

to  recommend  his  methods,  yet  how  many  young 
players  with  his  brand  on  them  do  we  sect 

It  is  not,  however,  necessary  to  take  any  one 
player  for  all  one's  strokes.  One  may  take  one 
stroke  from  one  man  and  another  from  a  different 
source.  I  should  have  no  hesitation  in  advising  a 
young  player  to  mold  his  backhand  drive  on  Mr. 
T.  B.  Pell's,  for  it  is  at  least  as  good  as  any  in 
the  northern  hemisphere;  but  there  are  other 
players  to  whom  I  shxmld  recommend  him,  in 
preference  to  Mr.  Pell,  if  he  wanted  the  best  pos- 
sible forehand,  altho  Mr.  Pell's  stroke  is  not  to 
be  despised,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  should  be 
known  and  used — with  a  firmer  wrist — by  every 
player,  for  it  is  the  natural  reply  to  a  loiv  ball, 
but,  unfortunately,  not  very  useful  on  a  high 
bound. 

In  a  word  then,  or  a  few,  what  America  requires 
in  order  to  regain  her  lost  laurels  in  tennis  is 
more  true  form,  especially  in  the  ground-game,  a 
greater  knowledge  of  the  true  theory  of  stroke 
production,  and  a  sounder  application  of  it. 

In  McLoughlin  and  Williams  we  have  two  fine 
young  athletes,  who  are  a  credit  to  their  country, 
but  it  would  be  abject  flattery  to  say  that  their 
game  is  "  rounded  off"  as  it  should  be — as  it  can 
be  if  some  one  will  take  them  in  hand  and  do  with 
them  as  the  famous  Murphy  was  wont  to  do  with 
his  team  of  athletes— make  them  use  the  best 
methods,  or  at  leas-t  try  them ! 


236 


MODEEN  TENNIS 


Seriously  speaking,  this  will  not  be  quite  neces- 
sary, but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  with  the  ad- 
dition only  of  a  backhand  drive  such  as  that  of 
Mr.  Pell,  both  of  America's  representatives  would 
be  far  more  formidable  opponents  than  they  are 
at  present. 

This  is  reducing  the  question  of  form  to  a  very 
concrete  proposition. 


The  two  positions  on  this  and 
the  following  page  are  taken 
from  photographs  of  McLough- 
lin  showing  his  methods.  The 
first  position  shows  him  looking 
for  a  low  ball,  whereas  the 
position  of  the  racket  in  the 
swing-back  is  for  a  horizontal 
drive  off  a  fairly  high-bounding 
ball.  The  main  defect,  how- 
ever, is  in  the  foot-work.  Com- 
pare this  with  Mr.  Pell's  foot- 
work, with  the  position  shown  in 
my  photographs,  and  with  the 
diagram  of  the  correct  position 
of  the  feet  for  the  backhand 
stroke.  The  right  foot  should 
point  much  more  toward  the  net, 
particularly  in  the  finish  of  the 
stroke.  So  long  as  MeLoughlin 
uses  his  feet  thus,  he  will  have 
to  run  around  his  backhand  to 
cover  its  weakness.  Whatever 
may  be  said  to  the  contrary  by 


FIGURE  33 

M.  E.  McLouoHLiN 

SWING-BACK  IN  BACKHAND 

DRIVE 


On  international  form  these  players  are  one- 
sided men.    They  have  no  backhand.    Mr.  Pell's 


THE   DAVIS   CUP 


237 


backhand  drive  is  a  well-known  stroke  produced 
in  much  better  form  than  theirs  by  a  player  who 
should  rank  higher  than  he  does.  Why  can  they 
not  acquire  it?  Would  America  let  her  hurdlers 
go  out  to  represent  her  with  an  obsolete  stride? 
I  think  not. 

Why  then  should  her  tennis-players  go  onto  the 
court  with  obsolete  or  defective  strokes  and 
methods  ? 


ill-informed  people,  there  is 
only  one  correct  principle  of 
producing  the  'backhand 
stroke,  be  it  plain  stroke, 
lifting  drive,  or  chop.  This 
is  shown  by  the  photographs 
of  Messrs.  T.  E.  Pell,  Nor- 
man Brookes,  and  of  myself. 
The  importance  of  thia 
stroke  and  its  thorough  neg- 
lect by  all  tennis-writers  is 
the  reason  for  the  most 
complete  illustration  and 
explanation  of  it  which  I 
have  given  in  this  volume. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mc- 
Loughlin  essays  to  do,  on 
the  backhand,  what  his 
photograph  indicates,  name- 
ly, to  play  the  stroke  for  a 
ftigrTi-bounding  ball  on  the 
low  ball.  This  puts  his  arm 
out  of  line  with  the  racket 
and  ruins  his  game  on  the 
backhand  side. 


FIGURE  34 
M.  E.  McLouoHUN 
FINISH  OF  BACKHAND  STROKE 


We  have,  as  an  example  of  almost  perfect  form 
in  serving  and  smashing,  McLoughlin.    Williams, 


238  MODERN  TENNIS 

with  practise,  could  easily  alter  his  service  and 
smashing.  He  had  his  day  against  McLoughlin, 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  his  form  carries 
with  it  too  much  risk  for  international  work,  as 
was  shown  in  the  Davis  Cup  matches,  and  has  been 
shown  since,  when  he  was  defeated  in  the  inter- 
collegiate championship. 

Both  McLoughlin  and  Williams  could  learn  to 
drive  on  the  backhand  as  Mr.  Pell  does,  while  on 
the  forehand  there  are  many  whose  form  is  cor- 
rect and  at  the  same  time  severe  enough  to  be 
worthy  of  emulation. 

It  is  only  by  strict  attention  to  form  that  Amer- 
ica will  regain  the  Davis  Cup.  England  lost  it, 
as  I  prophesied  she  would,  through  bad  form, 
through  playing  pretty  pat-ball  on  wrong  princi- 
ples, instead  of  following  the  original  manly  game. 

America  must  not  follow  her  lead.  She  has  the 
players,  a  wonderful  band  of  young  athletes, 
coming  to  light  every  day  faster  than  in  any  other 
country,  but  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  run  wild. 
They  must  be  caught  young,  and  taught  the 
technique  and  tactics  of  the  game.  Then  America 
will  win  and  hold  the  Davis  Cup  for  many  years, 
for  she  has,  without  doubt,  the  best  young  mate- 
rial in  the  world. 


INTERNATIONAL  TENNIS 

IT  was  in  1904  that  I  first  drew  attention  to 
the  defective  methods  of  the  English  players.  At 
that  time  Messrs.  Doherty  were  at  the  height  of 
their  fame,  and  English  players  could  see  no  good 
in  any  but  their  methods.  I  knew  that  they  were 
of  no  use  for  the  vast  majority  of  players,  and 
stated  plainly  that  they  would  land  England  "in 
the  mud, ' '  which  they  have  done.  In  speaking  of 
English  tennis,  Norman  Brookes  uses  the  word 
that  I  have  applied  to  it  for  years,  " stagnation." 
No  other  word  can  do  it  justice. 

Brookes  says  he  can  not  account  for  it.  It  is 
most  simple  to  account  for  it.  The  strokes  of  the 
game  are  not  known  or  played  as  they  should  be. 
The  technique  of  their  game  is  all  wrong.  While 
champions  spring  up  in  every  country — here  there 
are  potential  champions  in  bunches — England's 
senescent  and  adipose  players  continue  to  annex 
cups  and  championships  because  the  youth 
of  the  country  will  not  use  its  brains  in  a  game 
that  calls  so  insistently  for  brains  as  does  tennis. 

I  have  said  before,  and  I  repeat  with  all  the 
emphasis  of  which  I  am  capable,  that  when  the 
history  of  tennis  comes  to  be  written — if  it  ever 
is — the  period  during  which  the  Doherty  methods 
were  followed  in  England  will  be  clearly  recog- 

239 


240  MODERN  TENNIS 

nized  as  a  hiatus  in  the  true  game  during  which 
English  players  were  off  the  real  track. 

C.  P.  Dixon  is,  without  doubt,  the  leading 
exponent  of  the  Doherty  school.  Norman  E. 
Brookes  is,  equally  without  doubt,  the  most  fin- 
ished and  intelligent  exponent  of  the  real  game 
of  tennis  who  is  now  in  the  game. 

They  met  in  two  matches  during  the  recent  visit 
of  the  English  team  to  Australasia.  Brookes  won 
both.  The  first  was  3 — 0,  and  the  aggregate  score 
in  games  was  18  to  10. 

Their  next  meeting  was  a  two-set  match,  and 
the  aggregate  score  was  12  to  0. 

On  the  result  of  these  two  matches  the  score 
was  30  games  to  10,  which  about  expresses  the 
merits  of  the  two  schools  of  tennis. 

I  have  absolutely  no  use  for  English  methods, 
especially  on  the  backhand.  They  are  effeminate 
and  obsolete. 

Now  it  must  be  clearly  understood  that  such 
sterling  players  as  J.  C.  Parke,  H.  Roper  Barrett, 
M.  J.  G.  Ritchie,  and  A.  W.  Gore  do  not  use  the 
English  strokes. 

I  have  seen  Parke  play  many  times,  but  never 
since  he  beat  Brookes  at  Melbourne,  in  Australia. 
He  has  a  fine  forehand  drive.  There  is  no  ball- 
waving  in  it.  He  runs  onto  the  ball  and  gives  it 
all  his  weight. 

The  tennis  writers  in  England  delight  in  calling 
Brookes  an  unorthodox  player.  Really,  if  they 


NORMAN  E.  BKOOKES — BACKHAND  STROKE 

This  remarkable  picture  shows  Brookes  pluyliig  a  backhand 
stroke  in  his  stride.  It  Is  a  wonderful  lesson  on  the  true  and 
only  backhand.  Notice  the  grip  of  the  racket  and  the  absolutely 
perfect  line  of  the  arm  and  the  racket-handle.  This  Is  a  perfect 
grip  for  volleying  or  playing  off  the  ground. 

PLATE  47 


INTERNATIONAL   TENNIS          241 

only  knew  it,  he  is  the  most  orthodox  player  in 
the  world.  Every  stroke  is  produced  on  correct 
mechanical  principles,  and  he  gets  the  maximum 
of  results  for  the  expenditure  of  energy  that  he 
sees  fit  to  use,  for,  be  it  understood,  Brookes  cal- 
culates things  out  to  finer  points,  probably,  than 
any  other  player  in  the  game.  One  never  sees 
him  doing  any  sharp  turns  or  contortion  acts. 
These  mean  wear  and  tear.  He  has  his  idea  even 
in  his  funny  little  semi-circular  turn  just  before 
he  serves. 

Brookes  seemed  to  me  to  play  a  different  game 
from  what  he  showed  on  his  first  visit  to  England. 
Then  he  was  always  close  up  to  the  net  when  he 
got  a  chance,  and  volleying  at  sharp  angles  across 
court.  During  the  last  international  matches  he 
ran  in  and  got  his  first  volley  at  or  about  the 
service-line,  and  put  it  back,  as,  indeed,  from  his 
position  he  had  to  do,  much  straighter  than  during 
his  first  visit  to  England.  He  would  frequently 
get  a  little  nearer  on  his  second  stroke  and  score 
off  that.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  was  volleying 
much  farther  from  the  net  all  the  time.  Possibly 
he  has  settled  it  with  himself  that  he  can  not  stand 
galloping  up  to  the  net  all  the  time,  and  so  has 
decided  to  take  the  trip  in  two  stages.  That  is 
what  it  looked  like  to  me.  Brookes  certainly  is  a 
wonder  at  sparing  himself,  and  he  is  the  only 
man  I  ever  saw  playing  who  seems,  by  his  action, 


242  MODERN  TENNIS 

to  justify  the  journalistic  cliche  that  "he  moves 
like  a  piece  of  well-oiled  machinery." 

Brookes 's  performance  last  year  is,  and  prob- 
ably always  will  be,  unique  in  tennis  history.  It 
is,  I  believe,  the  greatest  feat  ever  accomplished 
in  a  tennis  season.  To  come  up  from  the  anti- 
podes, to  win  the  championship  of  the  world,  and 
to  lift  the  Davis  Cup — with,  of  course,  some  slight 
assistance — was  a  very  remarkable  performance. 

McLoughlin,  on  account  of  his  defeat  of  both 
Brookes  and  Wilding,  was  hailed  as  the  greatest 
player  in  the  world.  This,  of  course,  is  a  great 
mistake.  If  this  idea  were  to  prevail  it  would  be 
a  misfortune  for  the  game.  In  saying  this  I  do 
not  depreciate  McLoughlin 's  play  in  the  slightest 
degree.  Nobody  knows  better  than  McLoughlin 
that  playing  a  bye  in  a  Davis  Cup  contest  is  noth- 
ing compared  with  battling  for  the  championship 
of  the  world  through  the  All  England  tournament 
at  Wimbledon,  with  match  after  match  on  the  try- 
ing center  court,  and  the  constant  strain  on  one. 
Moreover,  if  championships  of  the  world  can  be 
handed  out  so  easily  there  is  one  whose  claim  to 
it  is  stronger  than  McLoughlin 's,  to  wit,  J.  C. 
Parke. 

McLoughlin  is  a  splendid  young  athlete,  and 
undoubtedly  a  great  player,  but  it  will  do  neither 
him  nor  the  game  any  good  to  take  a  distorted 
view  of  his  fine  performance  at  Forest  Hills 
last  year.  In  serving,  smashing,  volleying — at 


INTERNATIONAL   TENNIS          243 

and  above  the  height  of  the  net — and  in  receiving 
the  service  McLoughlin  is  worthy  of  the  study  of 
players,  but  off  the  ground  he  lacks  clear  knowl- 
edge of  the  technique  of  the  game,  and  in  low  vol- 
leying he  still  has  a  good  deal  to  learn.  Of  course, 
with  his  rapid  start,  and  consequent  early  arrival 
at  the  net,  he  does  not  require  to  use  low  volleys 
very  much,  but  if  his  departure  for  the  net  were 
delayed  by  about  four  feet,  he  would  require  to 
cultivate  a  better  low  volley  than  he  has  hitherto 
shown. 

Wilding's  great  strength  lay,  when  playing  in 
England,  in  his  forehand  drive,  which  kept  coming 
back  with  monotonous  regularity  and  much  useful 
pace.  I  thought  Wilding  was  not  the  Wimbledon 
Wilding.  I  am  afraid  that  he  must  have  "eased 
up"  after  Brookes  beat  him  in  England.  Wilding 
is  of  the  habit  of  body  that  piles  up  adipose  tissue 
very  rapidly.  I  saw  him  taking  his  first  practise 
at  Forest  Hills.  It  was  a  warm  afternoon,  cer- 
tainly, but  nothing  to  worry  about.  After  half 
an  hour  Wilding  looked  hotter  than  I  have  ever 
seen  him  at  Wimbledon,  except  on  the  memorable 
occasion  of  the  finish  between  him  and  Roper  Bar- 
rett on  that  roasting  summer  afternoon.  More- 
over, his  forehand  drive  seemed  shorter  and  more 
"poky,"  but  that  is  all  in  the  game.  McLoughlin 
beat  him  fairly  and  squarely.  Wilding's  greatest 
asset  always  has  been  his  endurance,  and  he  al- 
ways had  it  with  him  in  England  and  on  the 


244  MODERN  TENNIS 

Continent.  If  he  left  it  at  home  this  time  it  was 
not  McLoughlin's  fault. 

I  have  heard  Wilding's  backhand  extolled.  I 
can  not  see  it  compared  with  Norman  Brookes' 
stroke,  especially  for  all  volleying.  It  is  a  hybrid 
form,  being  neither  the  English  stroke  nor  the 
Colonial.  In  an  important  match  in  England  we 
once  took  account  of  mistakes  on  the  backhand 
made  by  Wilding  off  balls  which  he  should  have 
returned.  It  totaled  up  to  forty  after  we  had 
allowed  him  the  benefit  of  all  doubtful  balls. 
Brookes 's  backhand  is  infinitely  better,  sounder, 
and  severer  than  most  people  realize,  and  it  is 
produced  in  the  most  perfect  truth,  which  Wild- 
ing's is  not. 

Any  backhand  such  as  Wilding's  or  B.  N.  Wil- 
liams's  must  suffer  in  severe  work.  Williams 
never  had  the  beginning  of  a  backhand  compared 
with  Andre  Gobert  at  his  best,  and  I  have  seen 
A.  W.  Gore,  with  his  famous  forehand  drive, 
pound  the  volatile  Frenchman  on  that  side  so 
that  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.  Against 
severe  work,  particularly  in  the  modern  game,  it 
is  practically  impossible  with  the  English  grip  to 
drive  a  straight  ball  down  the  side-line  con- 
sistently. I  have  seen  all  the  greatest  backhand 
players  of  the  Doherty  school,  and  none  of  them 
can  do  this.  They  can  wave  it  across  the  court, 
but  even  then  they  can  not  control  its  direction. 

Thomas  C.  Bundy  is  a  good  foil  for  McLouglilin 


x     i-   - 


INTERNATIONAL   TENNIS          245 

and  Williams.  In  arriving  at  a  true,  estimate  of 
their  form,  past,  present,  and  particularly  future, 
one  must  allow  a  tremendous  discount  for  pyro- 
technics, especially  with  Williams,  but  with  Bundy 
this  is  not  so.  What  he  delivers  is  all  tennis,  and 
much  better  and  cleverer  than  most  people  know. 
His  service  is  most  effective.  I  have  heard  many 
players  speak  slightingly  of  it.  Why,  I  can  not 
understand.  I  have  never  seen  any  of  these  treat 
it  slightingly.  Both  it  and  its  near  relation,  the 
reverse  cut  service,  are  very  serviceable  deliveries. 
Bundy  worthily  filled  his  place  in  the  last  Davis 
Cup  matches,  and  it  should  go  without  my  saying 
it  that  he  is  at  all  times  a  most  dangerous  oppo- 
nent in  a  double,  an  astucious  and  courageous 
player  to  the  last  stroke  of  the  rest — and  the 
match. 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS 

THE    COURT 

1.  The  Court  is  78  feet  long  and  27  feet  wide.  It 
is  divided  across  the  middle  by  a  net,  the  ends  of 
which  are  attached  to  two  posts,  A  and  B,  stand- 
ing 3  feet  outside  of  the  court  on  either  side.  The 
height  of  the  net  is  3  feet  6  inches  at  the  posts, 
and  3  feet  in  the  middle.  At  each  end  of  the  court, 


parallel  with  the  net,  an'd  39  feet  from  it,  are 
drawn  the  base-lines  D  E  and  F  G,  the  ends  of 
which  are  connected  by  the  side-lines  D  F  and 
E  G.  Halfway  between  the  side-lines,  and  par- 
allel with  them,  is  drawn  the  half-court  line  I  H, 

246 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS  247 

dividing  the  space  on  each  side  of  the  net  into  two 
equal  parts,  the  right  and  left  courts.  On  each 
side  of  the  net,  at  a  distance  of  21  feet  from  it, 
and  parallel  with  it,  are  drawn  the  service-lines 
K  L  and  M  N. 

THE   BALLS 

2.  The  Balls  shall  measure  not  less  than  2y2 
inches,  nor  more  than  2  9-16  inches  in  diameter; 
and  shall  weigh  not  less  than  1  15-16  ounces,  nor 
more  than  2  ounces. 

THE   GAME 

3.  The  choice  of  sides,  and  the  right  to  serve  in 
the  first  game,  shall  be  decided  by  toss ;  provided 
that,  if  the  winner  of  the  toss  choose  the  right  to 
serve,  the  other  player  shall  have  choice  of  sides, 
and  vice  versa,  or  the  winner  of  the  toss  may  in- 
sist upon  a  choice  by  his  opponent.    If  one  player 
choose  the  court,  the  other  may  elect  not  to  serve. 

4.  The  players  shall  stand  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  net ;  the  player  who  first  delivers  the  ball  shall 
be  called  the  server,  and  the  other  the  striker-out. 

5.  At  the  end  of  the  first  game  the  striker-out 
shall  become  server,  and  the  server  shall  become 
striker-out;  and  so  on  alternately  in  all  the  sub- 
sequent games  of  the  set  and  following  sets. 

FOOT-FAULT   RULE 

LAW  6. — The  server  shall  before  commencing  to 
serve  stand  with  both  feet  at  rest  behind  (i.e., 
further  from  the  net  than)  the  base-line  and  within 


248  MODERN  TENNIS 

the  limits  of  the  imaginary  continuation  of  the 
half -court  and  side-lines,  and  thereafter  the  server 
shall  not  run,  walk,  hop  or  jump  before  the  service 
has  been  delivered,  but  the  server  may  raise  one 
foot  from  (and,  if  desired,  replace  it  on)  the 
ground,  provided  that  both  feet  are  kept  behind 
the  base-line  until  the  service  has  been  delivered. 

Official  Interpretation  of  law  6:  //  a  foot  be 
lifted  and  replaced,  there  must  be  no  change  of 
position  that  can  possibly  be  considered  a  step. 

LAW  7. — The  service  shall  be  delivered  from  the 
right  and  left  courts  alternately,  beginning  from 
the  right  in  every  game,  even  tho  odds  be  given  or 
owed,  and  the  ball  served  shall  drop  within  the 
service-line,  half-court  line  and  side-line  of  the 
court  which  is  diagonally  opposite  to  that  from 
which  it  was  served  or  upon  any  such  line. 

LAW  8. — It  is  a  fault  if  the  server  commit  any 
breach  of  Law  7,  or  if  the  service  be  delivered 
from  the  wrong  court,  or  if  the  ball  served  drop 
in  the  net  or  beyond  the  service-line,  or  if  it  drop 
out  of  court  or  in  the  wrong  court.  If  the  server 
in  attempting  to  serve,  miss  the  ball  altogether,  it 
does  not  count  a  fault;  but  if  the  ball  be  touched, 
no  matter  how  slightly,  by  the  racket,  a  service  is 
thereby  delivered,  and  the  laws  governing  the 
service  at  once  apply. 

8.  It  is  a  fault  if  the  ball  served  drop  in  the 
net,  or  beyond  the  service-line,  or  out  of  court,  or 
in  the  wrong  court ;  or  if  the  server  do  not  stand 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS  249 

as  directed  by  law  6.  If  the  server,  in  attempting 
to  serve,  miss  the  ball  altogether,  it  does  not  count 
a  fault,  but  if  the  ball  be  touched,  no  matter  how 
slightly,  by  the  racket,  a  service  is  thereby  de- 
livered, and  the  laws  governing  the  service  at  once 
apply. 

9.  A  fault  can  not  be  taken. 

10.  After  a  fault  the  server  shall  serve  again 
from  the  same  court  from  which  he  served  that 
fault,  unless  it  was  a  fault  because  he  served  from 
the  wrong  court. 

11.  A  fault  can  not  be  claimed  after  the  next 
service  is  delivered. 

12.  The  server  shall  not  serve  till  the  striker- 
out  is  ready.    If  the  latter  attempt  to  return  the 
service,  he  shall  be  deemed  ready. 

13.  A    service    or    fault    delivered    when    the 
striker-out  is  not  ready  counts  for  nothing. 

14.  The  service  shall  not  be  volleyed,  that  is, 
taken  before  it  has  touched  the  ground. 

15.  A  ball  is  in  play  on  leaving  the  server's 
racket,  except  as  provided  for  in  law  8,  and  re- 
mains in  play  till  the  stroke  is  decided. 

16.  It  is  a  good  return,  altho  the  ball  touch  the 
net;  but  a  service,  otherwise  good,  which  touches 
the  net  shall  count  for  nothing. 

17.  The  server  wins  a  stroke  if  the  striker-out 
volley  the  service,  or  if  he  fail  to  return  the  serv- 
ice or  the  ball  in  play ;  or  if  he  return  the  service 
or  the  ball  in  play  so  that  it  drops  outside  of 


250  MODERN  TENNIS 

his  opponent's  court;  or  if  he  otherwise  lose  a 
stroke,  as  provided  by  law  20. 

18.  The  striker-out  wins  a  stroke  if  the  server 
serve  two  consecutive  faults;  or  if  he  fail  to 
return  the  ball  in  play;  or  if  he  return  the  ball  in 
play  so  that  it  drops  outside  of  his  opponent's 
court ;  or  if  he  otherwise  lose  a  stroke  as  provided 
by  law  20. 

19.  A  ball  falling  on  a  line  is  regarded  as  fall- 
ing in  the  court  bounded  by  that  line. 

20.  Either  player  loses  a  stroke  if  the  ball  touch 
him,  or  anything  that  he  wears  or  carries,  except 
his  racket  in  the  act  of  striking;  or  if  he  touch 
the  ball  with  his  racket  more  than  once;  or  if  he 
touch  the  net  or  any  of  its  supports  while  the  ball 
is  in  play;  or  if  he  volley  the  ball  before  it  has 
passed  the  net. 

21.  In  case  a  player  is  obstructed  by  any  acci- 
dent, not  within  his  control,  the  ball  shall  be  con- 
sidered a  "let."    But  when  a  permanent  fixture 
of  the  court  is  the  cause  of  the  accident,  the  point 
shall  be  counted.    The  benches  and  chairs  placed 
around  the  court  shall  be  considered  permanent 
fixtures.    If,  however,  a  ball  in  play  strike  a  per- 
manent fixture  of  the  court  (other  than  the  net  or 
posts)  before  it  touches  the  ground,  the  point  is 
lost ;  if  after  it  has  touched  the  ground,  the  point 
shall  be  counted. 

22.  On  either  player  winning  his  first  stroke, 
the  score  is  called  15  for  that  player;  on  either 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS  251 

player  winning  his  second  stroke,  the  score  is 
called  30  for  that  player;  on  either  player  win- 
ning his  third  stroke,  the  score  is  called  40  for 
that  player;  and  the  fourth  stroke  won  by  either 
player  is  scored  game  for  that  player,  except  as 
below.  If  both  players  have  won  three  strokes, 
the  score  is  called  deuce,-  and  the  next  stroke  won 
by  either  player  is  scored  advantage  for  that 
player.  If  the  same  player  win  the  next  stroke, 
he  wins  the  game ;  if  he  lose  the  next  stroke  the 
score  returns  to  deuce,  and  so  on  until  one  player 
wins  the  two  strokes  immediately  following  the 
score  of  deuce,  when  game  is  scored  for  that 
player. 

23.  The  player  who  first  wins  six  games  wins 
the  set ;  except  as  below :  If  both  players  win  five 
games  the  score  is  called  games  all,-  and  the  next 
game  won  by  either  player  is  scored  advantage 
game  for  that  player.    If  the  same  player  win  the 
next  game,  he  wins  the  set;  if  he  lose  the  next 
game,  the  score  returns  to  games  all;  and  so  on, 
until  either  player  wins  the  two  games  immedi- 
ately following  the  score  of  games  all,  when  he 
wins  the  set.    But  the  committee  having  charge  of 
any  tournament  may  in  their  discretion  modify 
this  rule  by  the  omission  of  advantage  sets. 

24.  The  players  shall  change  sides  at  the  end  of 
the  first,  third  and  every  subsequent  alternate 
game  of  each  set  and  at  the  end  of  each  set,  unless 
the  number  of  games  in  such  set  be  even.    It  shall, 


252  MODERN  TENNIS 

however,  be  open  to  the  players  by  mutual  consent 
and  notification  to  the  umpire  before  the  opening 
of  the  second  game  of  the  match  to  change  sides 
instead  at  the  end  of  every  set  until  the  odd  and 
concluding  set,  in  which  they  shall  change  sides 
at  the  end  of  the  first,  third  and  every  subsequent 
alternate  game  of  such  set. 

*25.  In  all  contests  the  play  shall  be  continuous 
from  the  first  service  till  the  match  be  concluded ; 
provided,  however,  that  at  the  end  of  the  third  set 
either  player  is  entitled  to  a  rest,  which  shall  not 
exceed  seven  minutes ;  and  provided,  further,  that 
in  case  of  an  unavoidable  accident,  not  within  the 
control  of  the  contestants,  a  cessation  of  play 
which  shall  not  exceed  two  minutes  may  be  allowed 
between  points;  but  this  proviso  shall  be  strictly 
construed,  and  the  privilege  never  granted  for  the 
purpose  of  allowing  a  player  to  recover  his 
strength  or  wind.  The  referee  in  his  discretion 
may  at  any  time  postpone  the  match  on  account 
of  darkness  or  condition  of  the  ground  or  weather. 
In  any  case  of  postponement,  the  previous  score 
shall  hold  good.  Where  the  play  has  ceased  for 
more  than  an  hour,  the  player  who  at  the  cessa- 
tion thereof  was  in  the  court  first  chosen  shall 
have  the  choice  of  courts  on  the  recommencement 


*A11  matches  in  which  women  take  part  in  tournaments 
held  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States  National  Lawn- 
Tennis  Association  shall  be  the  best  two  in  three  sets,  with  a 
rest  not  exceeding  seven  minutes  after  the  second  set. 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS 


253 


of  play.  He  shall  stay  in  the  court  he  chooses 
for  the  remainder  of  the  set.  The  last  two  sen- 
tences of  this  rule  do  not  apply  when  the  players 
change  every  alternate  game  as  provided  by  law 
24. 

26.  If  a  player  serve  out  of  his  turn,  the  umpire, 
as  soon  as  the  mistake  is  discovered,  shall  direct 
the  player  to  serve  who  ought  to  have  served. 
But  all  strokes  scored  before  such  discovery  shall 
be  counted.    If  a  game  shall  have  been  completed 
before  such  discovery,  then  the  service  in  the  next 
alternate  game  shall  be  delivered  by  the  player 
who  did  not  serve  out  of  his  turn,  and  so  on  in 
regular  rotation. 

27.  The  above  laws  shall  apply  to  the  three- 
handed  and  four-handed  games,  except  as  below: 


THE  THREE-HANDED  AND  FOUR-HANDED  GAMES 

A 


K 


M 


N 


254  MODEEN  TENNIS 

28.  For    the    three-handed    and    four-handed 
games  the  court  shall  be  36  feet  in  width ;  4^  feet 
inside  the  side-lines,  and  parallel  with  them,  are 
drawn  the  service  side-lines  K  M  and  L  N.    The 
service-lines  are  not  drawn  beyond  the  point  at 
which  they  meet  the  service  side-lines,  as  shown 
in  the  diagram. 

29.  In  the  three-handed  game,  the  single  player 
shall  serve  in  every  alternate  game. 

30.  In  the  four-handed  game,  the  pair  who  have 
the  right  to  serve  in  the  first  game  shall  decide 
which  partner  shall  do  so ;  and  the  opposing  pair 
shall  decide  in  like  manner  for  the  second  game. 
The  partner  of  the  player  who  served  in  the  first 
game  shall  serve  in  the  third,  and  the  partner  of 
the  player  who  served  in  the  second  game  shall 
serve  in  the  fourth,  and  the  same  order  shall  be 
maintained  in  all  the  subsequent  games  of  the  set. 

31.  At  the  beginning  of  the  next  set,   either 
partner  of  the  pair  which  struck  out  in  the  last 
game  of  the  last  set  may  serve;  and  the  same 
privilege  is  given  to  their  opponents  in  the  second 
game  of  the  new  set. 

32.  The  players  shall  take  the  service  alter- 
nately throughout  the  game ;  a  player  can  not  re- 
ceive a  service  delivered  to  his  partner;  and  the 
order  of  service  and  striking  out  once  established 
shall  not  be   altered,  nor  shall   the  striker-out 
change  courts  to  receive  the  service,  till  the  end 
of  the  set. 


LAWS   OF   TENNIS 


255 


33.  It  is  a  fault  if  the  ball  served  do  not  drop 
between  the  service-line,  half-court  line,  and  serv- 
ice side-line  of  the  court,  diagonally  opposite  to 
that  from  which  it  was  served. 

34.  It  is  a  fault  if  the  ball  served  do  not  drop 
as  provided  in  law  35,  or  if  it  touch  the  server's 
partner  or  anything  he  wears  or  carries. 

ODDS 

THE   SIXTHS   SYSTEM   OP   HANDICAPPING 

In  the  case  of  received  odds : 

(a)  One-sixth  of  fifteen  is  one  stroke  given  in 
every  six  games  of  a  set  in  the  position  shown  by 
the  annexed  table. 

(b)  Similarly,    two-sixths,    three-sixths,    four- 
sixths,  and  five-sixths  of  fifteen  are  respectively 
two,  three,  four,  and  five  strokes  given  in  every 
six  games  of  a  set  in  the  position  shown  by  the 
table. 


1st 
Game 

2d 
Game 

3d 
Game 

4th 
Game 

5th 
Game 

6th 
Game 

%  of  15 

0 

15 

0 

0 

0 

0 

%  of  15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

0 

0 

%  of  15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

%  of  15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

15 

15 

%  of  15 

0 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

256 


MODERN   TENNIS 


In  the  case  of  owed  odds : 

(a)  One-sixth  of  fifteen  is  one  stroke  owed  in 
every  six  games  of  a  set  in  the  position  shown  by 
the  annexed  table. 

(&)  Similarly,  two-sixths,  three-sixths,  four- 
sixths,  and  five-sixths  of  fifteen  are  respectively 
two,  three,  four,  and  five  strokes  owed  in  every 
six  games  of  a  set  in  the  position  shown  by  the 
following  table: 


1st 
Game 

2d 
Game 

3d 
Game 

4th 
Game 

5th 
Game 

6th 
Game   ' 

%  of  15 

15 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2/6  Of  15 

15 

0 

15 

0 

0 

0 

%  of  15 

15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

0 

%  of  15 

15 

0 

15 

0 

15 

15 

%  of  15 

15 

0 

15 

15 

15 

15 

CEITICISM   OF  THE  LAWS 

I  HAVE  referred  to  the  looseness  with  which  the 
laws  of  tennis  are  drawn.  I  may,  perhaps,  give  a 
few  instances  of  what  I  mean. 

Law  1  says  (inter  alia) :  "The  Court  is  78  feet 
long  and  27  feet  wide."  It  would  be  well  to  say, 
"The  court  is  a  rectangle  78  feet  long  by  27  feet 
wide."  None  of  the  measurements  given  are  in- 
compatible with  the  court's  being  a  rhomboid,  and 
if  it  were  marked  out  as  directed  it  would  have  a 
greater  chance  of  being  a  rhomboid  than  a  rect- 
angle. A  correct  scale-plan  of  the  court,  with 
named  parts,  should  be  given,  and  should  be 
specifically  incorporated  in  the  rules. 

Law  4  says  (inter  alia):  "The  players  shall 
stand  on  opposite  sides  of  the  net.  ..."  For 
"stand"  we  should  have  "play  from"  or  similar 
words. 

Law  7  reads:  "The  service  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  right  and  left  courts  alternately,  begin- 
ning from  the  right  in  every  game,  even  tho 
odds  be  given  or  owed;  and  the  ball  served  shall 
drop  within  the  service-line,  half-court  line  and 
side-line  of  the  court  which  is  diagonally  opposite 
to  that  from  which  it  was  served,  or  upon  any 
such  line."  There  seems  to  be  needed  some  rule 

257 


258  MODEEN  TENNIS 

or  rules  defining  and  naming  the  different  portions 
of  the  court.  That  portion  of  the  tennis-court  on 
either  side  of  the  net  is  divided  into  the  right  and 
left  courts.  A  line  runs  down  the  middle  from 
base-line  to  base-line,  but  the  custom  now  is  to 
carry  it  only  from  service-line  to  service-line. 

The  letters  I.  H.  on  the  plan  of  the  court  and 
rule  No.  1  show  clearly,  however,  that  its  full 
length  is  still  recognized,  for  rule  1  says  that  the 
line  I  H  divides  '  *  the  space  on  each  side  of  the  net 
into  two  equal  parts,  the  right  and  left  courts." 

In  the  early  days  of  the  game  the  full  length  of 
the  line  was  necessary,  as  a  player  in  a  match 
would  sometimes  handicap  himself  to  play  into  one 
half -court  only.  That,  however,  was  long  before 
my  time,  and  is  merely  a  matter  of  history;  but 
it  has  a  bearing  on  the  subject  under  discussion, 
as  will  be  seen.  When  one  speaks  of  a  subdivision 
of  a  lawn-tennis  court  as  a  " court"  simply,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  term  can  only  mean  the  right 
court  or  the  left  court,  each  of  which  contains 
two  other  subdivisions,  the  service-court  and  the 
back-court,  but  the  rules  do  not  use  the  terms 
service-court  and  back-court. 

Now,  the  rule  says:  "The  ball  served  shall 
drop  within  the  service-line,  half-court  line  and 
side-line  of  the  court  which  is  diagonally  opposite 
to  that  from  which  it  was  served." 

Let  us  say  it  was  served  from  the  right  court. 
Then  it  is  very  evident  that  it  must  drop  into 


CRITICISM   OF   THE   LAWS         259 

the  right  court  on  the  other  side  of  the  net  "within 
the  service-line,  half-court  line  and  side-line  of 
the  court  which  is  diagonally  opposite  to  that  from 
which  it  was  served. "  As  we  are  only  given  three 
boundaries,  and  as  these  three  boundaries  are 
common  to  both  the  service-court  and  the  back 
court,  it  follows  that  the  whole  of  the  diagonally 
opposite  right  single  court,  from  the  net  to  the 
base-line,  is,  in  this  case,  open  to  the  server.  This, 
so  far  as  I  can  see,  is  irrefutable  as  a  point  of 
tennis  law.  It  follows  that  the  same  holds  good 
of  the  left  court.  The  wording  of  the  rule  is 
somewhat  different  in  the  laws  of  the  three-handed 
and  four-handed  games,  and  may  not  bear  this  in- 
terpretation. 

The  trouble,  which  arises  apparently  from  the 
misuse  of  the  word  court  for  service-court,  would 
have  been  obviated  had  the  fourth  boundary  been 
given.  The  draughtsman  evidently  meant  to  say 
that  the  ball  served  shall  drop  into  the  opponent's 
"service-court"  which  is  on  that  side  of  the  center 
(or  half -court)  line  farther  from  the  server,  and 
that  it  must  drop  within  the  area  contained  by 
the  net,  the  center-line,  the  service-line,  and  the 
side-line  of  such  court,  in  no  case  produced  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  said  service-court,  or  upon  any 
such  line  within  such  limits,  and  even  with  this 
definition  there  should  go  a  properly  drawn  and 
named  plan  of  the  court. 

Law  8.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  rule  has  been 


260  MODERN  TENNIS 

in  part  duplicated.  This,  I  am  informed,  has  been 
unofficially  rectified  in  some  of  the  published 
copies  of  the  laws.  I  give  it  here,  however,  as  it 
is  in  the  latest  copy  of  the  Association's  rules  that 
I  could  get. 

The  second  rule  8  states  that  it  is  a  fault  if  the 
player  do  not  "stand  as  directed  by  law  6."  This 
declaration  it  seems  is  insufficient  and  should  at 
least  read  "or  if  the  server  do  not  comply  with 
the  provisions  of  law  6." 

The  provision  that  it  is  not  a  fault  if  one  in 
serving  miss  the  ball  altogether  should  be  abol- 
ished. What  would  be  thought  of  a  similar  law 
with  regard  to  air-strokes  in  golf? 

Law  7  says  that ' '  The  service  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  right  and  left  courts  alternately,  begin- 
ning from  the  right  in  every  game.  .  .  . " 

Law  8  shows  clearly  that  by  means  of  a  fault 
"a  service  is  thereby  delivered,  and  the  laws  gov- 
erning the  service  at  once  apply."  Therefore,  to 
keep  the  service  alternating  one  must  after  one 
fault  go  into  the  next  court  to  serve;  but  let  us 
read  law  10,  which  says  that  "After  a  fault  the 
server  shall  serve  again  from  the  same  court  from 
which  he  served  that  fault,  unless  it  was  a  fault 
because  he  served  from  the  wrong  court." 

It  would  almost  seem  from  this  law  that  if  a 
man  had  six,  or  more,  consecutive  faults  to  serve 
he  would  have  to  deliver  them  all  from  the  same 
court !  In  fact,  notwithstanding  the  peculiar  laws 


CEITICISM   OF   THE   LAWS         2G1 

(7  and  8)  which  make  it  necessary  to  serve  alter- 
nate balls,  even  if  faults,  from  right  and  left 
courts,  this  law  apparently  condemns  us  to  go  on 
serving  in  the  same  court  so  long  as  we  serve  con- 
secutive faults.  This  requires  some  clarifying. 

The  clumsy  term  "striker-out"  should  be 
abolished.  The  *  *  striker, "  or  the ' '  receiver, "  is  all 
that  is  necessary. 

Law  19  says:  "A  ball  falling  on  a  line  is  re- 
garded as  falling  in  the  court  bounded  by  that 
line." 

This  law  might  be  better  exprest.  I  am  serving 
from  the  right  court.  My  ball  pitches  on  the 
center-line  within  the  limits  of  the  service-court. 
Under  the  rule  there  are  two  courts  to  which  it 
may  legally  be  adjudged,  my  opponent's  right  and 
left  service-courts.  In  the  first  case  it  would  be 
good,  in  the  second,  bad.  Everyone,  of  course, 
knows  to  which  it  belongs,  but  a  law  should  be 
explicit  and  not  capable  of  two  interpretations. 

Law  20  provides  that  "Either  player  loses  a 
stroke  if  the  ball  touch  him,  or  anything  that  he 
wears  or  carries,  except  his  racket  in  the  act  of 
striking.  .  .  . 

This  law  obviously  requires  adaptation  to  the 
double  game.  Also  it  should  read '  *  if  the  ball  when 
in  play  touch  him  .  .  ."  while  the  words  "in 
the  act  of  striking, ' '  in  the  absence  of  definition  of 
the  word  ' '  striking, ' '  should  be  deleted.  At  pres- 
ent, if  one  returned  a  ball  close  to  the  net  by  the 


262  MODERN  TENNIS 

mere  rebound  off  a  rigidly  held  racket  it  would 
count  against  him,  as  it  could  not  be  called  an 
"act  of  striking.*' 

The  terms  "  Three-handed"  and  "Four- 
handed"  should  be  abolished,  and  any  rules  deal- 
ing with  the  old  three-handed  or  "unicorn"  game 
should  be  expunged.  It  no  longer  exists.  It  is 
obsolete,  as  dead  as  the  dodo,  and  therefore  should 
not  encumber  modern  laws  of  a  great  and  pro- 
gressive game.  Singles  and  doubles  are,  so  far 
as  the  laws  are  concerned,  the  two  games  known. 

Law  32  says  (inter  alia):  "The  players  shall 
take  the  service  alternately  throughout  the  game. ' ' 
What  is  meant  by  this  is  that  the  strikers  shall 
receive  or  play  the  service  alternately  during  each 
game.  "Take  the  service"  in  tennis  language 
usually  means  "to  serve." 

Law  34,  which  is  the  last  law,  says  that  it  is  a 
fault  if  the  ball  "do  not  drop  as  provided  in  law 
35."  I  have  the  authority  of  Mr.  Robert  D. 
Wrenn,  the  President  of  the  United  States  Lawn- 
Tennis  Association,  for  stating  that  "35"  means 
"33,"  and  indeed  that  is  obvious;  but  laws  are 
laws,  and  I  should  not  have  taken  upon  myself 
to  do  this.  It  is  bad  enough  to  try  to  interpret 
and  carry  out  the  law  provided,  without  pre- 
suming to  say  what  was  in  the  minds  of  the  law- 
makers. 

These  few  instances — and  many  more  might  be 
given — will  show  the  necessity  for  a  careful  re- 


CRITICISM   OF   THE   LAWS         263 

vision  of  the  laws  of  the  game.  A  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  draw  the  laws  in  an  intelli- 
gent manner.  They  should  then  be  universally 
criticized  and  ultimately,  with  alterations  where 
necessary,  adopted  throughout  the  world. 


REGULATIONS  FOR  THE  INTERNATIONAL 

LAWN-TENNIS  CHAMPIONSHIP 

(DAVIS  CUP) 


Revised  and  adopted  by  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  France,  Belgium,  Austria,  Australia, 
1906: 

1.  The  Competition  shall  be  called  "The  Inter- 
national Lawn-Tennis  Championship,"  and  shall 
be  open  to  any  Nation  which  has  a  recognized 
Lawn-Tennis  Association  or  Corresponding  Or- 
ganization; and,  for  the  purposes  of  these  Regu- 
lations, Australia  with  New  Zealand,  the  British 
Isles,  British  South  Africa,  Canada,  India,  and 
the  United  States  of  America  shall,  among  others, 
be  regarded  as  separate  Nations. 

2.  The  Nation  for  the  time  being  holding  the 
International   Lawn-Tennis    Championship   shall 
hereinafter  be  termed  "The  Champion  Nation." 

3.  The  Competition  shall  take  place  in  accord- 
ance with  the  following  Regulations,  and,  except 
in  so  far  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  competing 
Nations  for  their  own  Tie,  with  the  Laws  and 
Regulations    of   the   game   for   the   time   being 
sanctioned  by  the  Champion  Nation. 

4.  The  management  of  the  Competition  shall  be 
entrusted  to  a  Committee,  hereafter  termed  "the 
Committee  of  Management,"  which  shall  be  ap- 

264 


INTERNATIONAL   CHAMPIONSHIP    265 

pointed  annually  by  the  Lawn-Tennis  Association 
or  Corresponding  Organization  of  the  Champion 
Nation. 

5.  The  Committee  of  Management  shall  make 
all  arrangements  for  the  preliminary  Tie  or  Ties 
(if  any)  of  the  Competition  where  such  prelimi- 
nary Tie  or  Ties  are  to  be  played  in  the  Country 
of  the  Champion  Nation,  and  also  for  the  Chal- 
lenge Tie,  and  its  decision  in  respect  of  all  such 
arrangements  shall  be  final.    The  Committee  of 
Management  shall  also  have  power  to  depute  to 
others,  in  any  preliminary  Tie  or  Ties,  the  making 
of  all  or  any  such  arrangements  as  may  be  deemed 
necessary. 

6.  Any  Nation  wishing  to  compete  shall  give 
notice  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Lawn-Tennis  Asso- 
ciation  or    Corresponding   Organization    of    the 
Champion  Nation,  so  that  it  shall  reach  him  not 
later  than  the  first  Monday  in  March  of  the  year 
in  which  the  Competition  is  to  take  place.    Should 
more  than  one  Nation  challenge,  they  shall  com- 
pete among  themselves  for  the  right  to  play  the 
Champion  Nation  in  the   Challenge  Tie.       The 
Draw,  at  which  each  challenging  Nation  may  be 
represented,  shall  be  made  by  the  Committee  of 
Management  on  the  day  following  the  first  Mon- 
day in  March,  and  particulars  shall  be  notified  to 
the  respective  Secretaries  for  the  time  being  of 
the  Lawn-Tennis  Associations  or  Corresponding 
Organizations  of  the  several  competing  Nations, 


266  MODERN  TENNIS 

with  an  intimation  of  the  latest  date  by  which  the 
Tie  or  Ties  shall  be  concluded.  Failure  to  con- 
clude a  Tie  by  the  date  fixt  by  the  Committee  of 
Management  shall  render  both  Sides  liable  to  be 
scratched,  unless,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Committee 
of  Management,  the  weather  or  other  unavoidable 
hindrance,  shall  have  made  completion  impossible. 
Competing  Nations  shall  arrange  among  them- 
selves for  the  playing  of  their  respective  Ties  upon 
a  ground  or  grounds,  and  upon  a  date  or  dates 
convenient  to  those  concerned ;  but,  in  the  event  of 
an  agreement  not  being  arrived  at,  the  prelimi- 
nary Tie  or  Ties  shall  be  played  in  the  country 
of  the  Champion  Nation  upon  a  ground  or 
grounds,  and  upon  a  date  or  dates,  to  be  fixt  upon 
by  the  Committee  of  Management. 

7.  When  gate-money  shall  be  taken,  one-half  of 
the  profit  shall  belong  to  the  visiting  Nation;  or, 
in  the  case  of  -a  Tie  being  played  on  neutral 
ground,  one  third  each  to  the  visiting  Nations,  and 
the  remaining  fraction  of  profit  in  each  case  shall 
go  to  the  Nation  in  whose  Country  the  Tie  shall 
be  played. 

8.  The  Challenge  Tie  shall  be  played  in  the 
Country  of  the  Champion  Nation  at  a  date  and 
upon  a  ground  to  be  agreed  upon  by  common  con- 
sent.   In  the  event  of  an  agreement  not  being 
arrived  at,  the  fixing  of  the  date  and  ground  shall 
be  submitted  to  Arbitration. 

9.  A  player  shall  be  qualified  to  represent  a 


INTERNATIONAL   CHAMPIONSHIP    267 

Nation,  if  he  shall  have  been  born  in  that  Nation, 
or  shall  have  resided  therein  for  at  least  two 
years  immediately  preceding  a  Tie,  provided  al- 
ways that  he  be  a  bona  fide  Amateur;  but  no  one 
shall  be  entitled  to  play  for  more  than  one  Nation 
in  this  Competition  during  the  same  year.  During 
the  time  that  a  player  may  be  qualifying  to  play 
for  a  Nation  under  the  residential  qualification, 
he  may  play  for  the  Nation  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  last  previously  qualified. 

10.  The  Lawn-Tennis   Association  or  Corres- 
ponding Organization  of  each  of  the  Nations  con- 
cerned shall  appoint  a  Captain  of  its  Side.    In 
default  of  such  appointee  a  Side  shall  choose 
its  own  Captain. 

11.  For  each  Tie  a  Eeferee,  from  whose  decision 
there  shall  be  no  appeal,  shall  be  appointed  by 
common  consent  of  the  Captains  of  the  competing 
Sides.    He  shall  have  power  to  appoint  Umpires. 
He  shall  decide  any  point  of  law  which  an  Umpire 
may  profess  himself  unable  to  decide,  or  which 
may  be  referred  to  him  on  appeal  from  the  de- 
cision of  an  Umpire  by  the  players.    He  shall 
decide,  if  he  be  called  upon  to  decide  by  the 
Captain  of  either  Side,  whether  or  not  a  Match  or 
Matches   shall  be   stopt  owing  to   the  state  of 
the  courts,  the  state  of  the  weather,  darkness,  or 
other  unavoidable  hindrance. 

12.  (a)  Each  competing  Nation  shall,  twenty-one 
days  before  the  date  fixt  for  the  commencement  of 


268  MODERN  TENNIS 

a  Tie,  nominate  to  the  Committee  of  Management 
not  more  than  four  players,  without  specifying 
who  shall  play  in  Singles  and  Doubles.  Different 
players,  however,  may  be  nominated  by  a  Nation 
for  different  Ties. 

(b)  Each    Captain    shall,    twenty-four    hours 
before  the  time  fixt  for  the  commencement  of  play 
in  each  Contest,  give  notice  of  the  composition  of 
his  Team  to  the  Executive  Committee,  and  his 
Team  shall  be  selected  from  the  four  players  pre- 
viously nominated  for  the  Tie.    Such  selection  by 
the  Captain,  however,  shall  be  regarded  as  solely 
for  the  convenience  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
and  may  be  varied  by  him  before  the  commence- 
ment of  play. 

(c)  For  the  Second  Bound  of  the  Singles  Con- 
test in  any  Tie,  the  Bef  eree  may  sanction  the  sub- 
stitution of  another  of  the  players  nominated  by 
a  Nation  for  that  Tie  in  the  place  of  any  player, 
who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Beferee,  is  incapaci- 
tated by  illness,  accident,  or  other  unavoidable 
hindrance ;  provided  that  such  substitute  shall  not 
be  the  player  who  has  already  competed  in  the 
Singles  Contest. 

13.  The  time  of  cessation  of  play  shall  be  fixt 
before  the  commencement  of  each  day's  play  by 
the  Captains  of  the  opposing  Sides,  or  by  the 
Beferee  if  they  shall  disagree.  It  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Beferee  to  stop  play  when  this  time 
arrives;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  he  may  ex- 


INTERNATIONAL   CHAMPIONSHIP    269 

tend  the  time  with  the  consent  of  the  Captains  of 
the  opposing  Sides.  A  player  shall  not  be  called 
upon  to  play  more  than  one  Match  a  day,  except 
with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Captains  of 
the  opposing  Sides  and  the  majority  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee. 

14.  Each  Tie  shall  be  decided  by  the  combined 
results  of  Singles  and  Doubles,  and  the  Side  which 
shall  win  the  majority  of  Matches  shall  be  the 
winner  of  a  Tie. 

15.  In  the  Singles,  each  Team  shall,  subject  to 
Eegulation  12,  Clause  c,  consist  of  two  players, 
who  shall  play  each  against  each  of  the  opposing 
Team  the  best  of  five  advantage  sets.    The  order 
of  play  and  courts  shall  be  decided  by  lot.    In  the 
Doubles,  each  Team  shall  consist  of  two  players, 
who  shall  play  against  the  opposing  Team  the  best 
of  five  advantage  sets. 

16.  Unless   otherwise  arranged  by  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  Captains  of  the  opposing 
Sides  and  the  majority  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, the  Doubles  shall  take  place  between  the 
two  rounds  of  the  Singles  Contest.    If,  however, 
a  player  be  chosen  for  both  the    Singles    and 
Doubles  Contests,  and  if,  by  a  change  in  the  above 
arrangements,  he  be  called  upon  to  play  his  two 
Singles  Matches  on  consecutive  days,  then  there 
shall  be  an  interval  of  one  day  between  the  second 
and  the  third  days'  play.    Provided,  nevertheless, 
that  if  there  be  an  interval  between  the  first  and 


270  MODEEN  TENNIS 

second  days'  play,  either  from  postponement, 
arrangement,  or  the  interval  of  a  Sunday,  there 
shall  not  be  an  interval  between  the  second  and 
third  days'  play. 

17.  If  any  player  be  absent  when  called  upon 
to  play  by  the  Eeferee,  the  opposing  Side  shall 
be  entitled  to  three  love  sets. 

18.  Any  Competing  Nation  whose  Lawn-Tennis 
Association  or   Corresponding  Organization,   or 
whose  Eepresentatives  shall  fail  to  conform  to  the 
above  Eegulations,  may  be  disqualified  by  the 
Committee  of  Management  in  respect  of  the  Com- 
petition for  the  year  wherein  such  failure  shall 
occur. 

19.  Winners  of  a  preliminary  Tie  shall  notify 
the   result  without   delay  to   the   Committee   of 
Management,  by  telegram,  which  shall  be  con- 
firmed by  letter. 

20.  For  purposes  of  correspondence  and  the 
giving  of  notices  required  by  these  Eegulations, 
the  Secretary  for  the  time  being  of  the  Lawn- 
Tennis  Association  or  Corresponding  Organiza- 
tion of  the  Champion  Nation  shall  be  regarded  as 
representing  the  Committee  of  Management. 

21.  The   above   Eegulations   shall   be   binding 
upon  the  Nations  concerned,  and  shall  not  be 
altered  except  with,  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of 
the  Associations  or  Corresponding  Organizations 
whose    Nation    shall   have    from   time    to    time 
competed  and  who  shall  record  their  votes. 


INTERNATIONAL   CHAMPIONSHIP    271 

NOTE. — In  the  above  Regulations,  one  Nation 
playing  against  another  is  regarded  as  a  "Tie"; 
Singles  and  Doubles  are  regarded  as  separate 
"Contests,"  and  the  best  of  five  advantage  sets 
is  regarded  as  a  "Match."  The  players  in 
Singles  and  Doubles  are  regarded  as  separate 
"Teams";  and  the  players  in  the  combined  Con- 
tests as  a  "Side." 


KEGULATIONS   FOB   THE   MANAGEMENT 
OF  TENNIS  TOURNAMENTS 

1.  At  Tournaments  held  by  Clubs  belonging  to 
the  United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis  Associa- 
tion or  by  Clubs  belonging  to  Associations  which 
belong  to  the  National  Association  or  by  Associa- 
tions belonging  to  said  National  Association,  the 
Laws  of  Lawn-Tennis,  as  adopted  for  the  time 
being  by  said  National  Association,  and  the  Regu- 
lations hereinafter  contained  shall  be  observed. 

2.  The  Officers  of  the  Club  holding  the  Tour- 
nament shall  have  full  power  over  all  details  con- 
cerning said  Tournament,  but  shall  be  entitled  to 
delegate  their  power  to  a  Committee.    In  case  no 
special  Committee  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Offi- 
cers of  the  Club  holding  the  Tournament,  the 
powers  and  functions  hereinafter  delegated  to  the 
Committee  shall  be  vested  in  and  performed  by 
the  Officers  of  said  Club. 

3.  A  circular  shall  be  issued  by  the  Committee 
specifying  the  conditions  of  the  competition,  and 
including  names  of  Tournament  Committee  and 
of  the  Referee. 

4.  No  cheques,  orders  for  money,  or  cash  pay- 
ments in  any  form  shall  be  given  as  prizes,  and 
the  amount  actually  paid  for  each  prize  shall  in 
no  case  be  below  the  advertised  value  of  the  same, 
if  included  in  circular.    If  any  challenge  cup  is 
offered  it  shall  be  deeded  to  the  National  Lawn- 

272 


TOURNAMENTS  273 

Tennis  Association.  (See  form  of  deed  of  gift 
on  following  page.)  The  winner  of  a  Challenge 
Cup  shall  be  entitled  to  the  possession  of  the  cup 
until  one  month  previous  to  the  next  competition 
for  the  cup,  possession  being  conditional  on  the 
giving  of  a  bond  by  the  winner  satisfactory  to  the 
Club.  Should  the  Club  give  possession  without 
such  bond,  it  shall  be  liable  to  the  National  Asso- 
ciation for  the  value  of  the  cup. 

5.  The  Committee  shall  elect  a  Referee,  with 
power  to  appoint  a  substitute  to  be  approved  by 
them.    The  Referee  or  his  duly  appointed  sub- 
stitute must  be  present  at  all  times  when  play  is 
in  progress. 

6.  The  Referee  or  such  other  member  or  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  as  may  be  selected  for  the 
purpose,  shall  have  power  to  appoint  Umpires  and 
Linesmen,  to  assign  courts  and  to  start  matches, 
and  the  Referee  shall  decide  any  point  of  law 
which  an  Umpire  may  profess  himself  unable  to 
decide,  or  which  may  be  referred  to  him  on  appeal 
from  the  decision  of  an  Umpire,  and  such  decision 
shall  be  final. 

7.  The  Referee  shall,  during  the  Tournament, 
be  ex-officio  a  member  of  the  Committee. 

8.  The  Committee  shall  help  to  keep  order  on 
the  ground,  and  shall  consult  and  decide  upon  any 
question  arising  out  of  the  competition,  if  sum- 
moned for  that  purpose  by  the  Referee  or  by  any 
two  of  their  number;  and  they  shall  have  power, 


274  MODERN  TENNIS 

when  so  convened,  the  misconduct  of  a  Competitor 
having  been  reported  to  them  by  a  member  of  the 
Committee  or  an  Umpire,  to  disqualify  the 
offender,  and  further  to  order  him  off  the  ground, 
should  his  misconduct  appear  to  them  to  justify 
such  action,  but  before  such  action  shall  be  taken, 
an  opportunity  of  offering  an  explanation  shall 
be  afforded  to  the  competitor,  whose  misconduct 
has  been  reported  to  them.  When  the  whole  of 
the  Committee  of  a  Club  or  even  a  quorum  there- 
of may  not  be  available,  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee that  are  available  shall  have  power  to  act 
in  cases  left  to  the  Committee  of  the  Club. 

"DEED  OF  GIFT"  FORM  FOE  CHALLENGE   CUPS 
Know  All  Men  by  These  Presents: 

THAT hereby  presents  to 

the  United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis  Associa- 
tion the  cup  tendered  herewith,  to  be  called  and 

known  as and  to  represent 

to  be  held  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis 
Association,  according  to  such  Rules  and  Regu- 
lations as  may  be,  from  time  to  time,  prescribed 
by  said  Association.  The  winner  of  the  said 
championship  shall  be  entitled  to  the  possession 
of  the  cup  for  the  period  during  which  he  holds 
the  championship,  being  responsible,  however,  for 
the  production  of  the  cup  at  the  next  champion- 
ship contest.  This  cup  shall  become  the  property 


TOURNAMENTS 


275 


of  the  player  who  shall  win  said  championship  at 
annual  championship  con- 
tests   

If  for  any  reason  no  contest  for  said  champion- 
ship should  be  held  for  a  period  of  two  years,  the 
United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis  Association 
shall  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  said  cup  as 
shall  seem  proper. 

(Signature) 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF, 


9.  It  is  the  duty  of  an  Umpire— 

(a)  To  ascertain  that  the  net  is  at  the  right 
height  before  the  commencement  of  play,  and  to 
measure  and  adjust  the  net  during  play,  if  asked 
to  do  so,  or  if,  in  his  opinion,  its  height  has  altered. 

(6)  To  call  the  faults  (subject  to  Regulation 
10)  and  lets  unless  he  delegates  such  power. 

(c)  To  call  the  strokes  when  won,  or  when  he 
is  asked  to  call  them,  and  to  record  them  upon 
the  Umpire's  scoring-sheet.* 


*Example : 

The  strokes  are  scored  by  means  of  pencil  marks  in  the 
spaces  beneath  the  word  "STROKES/'  thus: 


• 

I 

0 

Initials 
of 
Players 

STROKES 

Game 
won 
by 

; 

IA.B. 

l 

1 

1 

1 

C.  D. 

1 

1 

] 

!C.  D. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

... 

... 

A.  B. 

1 

i 

1 

1 

i 

276 


MODERN  TENNIS 


The  Scoring  Sheet  shows  that  in  the  first  game  the  score 
ran,  and  would  have  been  called,  thus: — "15 — love,  30 — love, 
30—15,  40—15,  40—30,  game  (A.B.)"  In  the  second  game: 
"Love— 15,  15  all,  15—30,  30  all,  40—30,  deuce,  advantage 
(C.D.),  deuce,  advantage  (A.B.),  deuce,  advantage  (C.D.), 
game  (C.D.)" 

The  score  of  the  Server  should  be  called  first. 

(d)  To  call  the  games  and  the  sets  at  the  end 
of  each,  or  when  asked  to  call  them,  and  to  record 
them  on  the  Umpire's  scoring-sheet. 

NOTE — At  the  end  of  each  game  the  games  should  be  called 
with  the  name  of  the  player  who  is  in  advance,  thus :  "2  games 
to  1,  B  wins"  or,  "B  leads."  If  the  games  are  level  the  score 


In  scoring  handicap  matches,  the  odds  received  should  be 
marked  by  crosses  on  the  right  of  the  first  perpendicular 
thick  line  before  the  commencement  of  each  game,  thus: 


Game 

Initials  of 
Players 

a 

TR 

OK 

;s 

Game 
won  by 

1 

A.B. 

+ 

C.  D. 

C.D. 

A.B. 

+ 

+ 

8, 

A.B. 

+ 

C.D. 

4. 

C.  D. 

A.B. 

+ 

+ 

5< 

iA.B. 

+ 

1 

C.  D. 

6 

C.D. 

A.B. 

+ 

+ 

Here  A.  B.  is  receiving  15  and  3-sixths  of  15. 


TOURNAMENTS 


277 


should  be  called  thus,  "three  games  all,"  or  as  the  case  may 
be.  At  the  end  of  each  set  the  sets  should  be  called  in  like 
manner. 

(e)  To  direct  the  Competitors  to  change  sides, 
in  accordance  with  Law  24. 

(/)  When  appealed  to  during  a  rally,  whether 
a  doubtful  ball  is  "in  play'*  or  not,  to  call  "play," 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  rally  to  give  his  de- 
cision (subject  to  Eegulation  11)  or  direct  the 
Competitors  to  play  the  stroke  again. 

(g)  To  decide  all  doubtful  or  disputed  strokes, 
and  all  points  of  law  (subject  to  Regulations  10 


When  odds  are  owed,  they  should  be  marked  on  the  left 
of  the  first  thick  perpendicular  line  before  the  commencement 
of  each  game,  thus: 


Game 

Initials 

T,      °£ 

Players 

s- 

rue 

)KF 

s 

Game 

won  by 

1 

A.  B. 

1 

1 

C.  D. 

C.  D. 

A.B. 

i 

1 

o  J 

IA.  B. 

1 

1 

O      •< 

1 

C.  D. 

i  ! 

iC.  D. 

i 

A.B. 

1 

0    J 

!A.  B. 

1 

O        •* 
< 

C.  D. 

iC.  D. 

1 

A.B. 

1 

278 


MODERN  TENNIS 


and  11),  and  to  be  responsible  for  the  proper  con- 
duct of  the  match. 

(h)  In  handicap  matches  to  call  the  odds  at  the 
commencement  of  each  set. 

(i)  To  sign  the  Umpire's  scoring-sheets,  and 
to  deliver  them  at  the  conclusion  of  the  match  to 
such  person  as  the  Committee  may  authorize  to 
receive  them. 

Provided,  that  no  omission  of  any  of  the  fore- 
going duties  on  the  part  of  an  Umpire  shall  of 
itself  invalidate  any  stroke,  game,  or  match. 


and  should  be  crossed  off  one  by  one  when  the  player  owing 
wins  a  stroke,  thus: 


Game 

initials 
Players 

Si 

HO 

KE 

3 

Game 

won  by 

1 

A.  B. 

+ 

•f 

C.  D. 

C.  D. 

A.B. 

+ 

I     A.  B. 

-f 

+ 

• 
I 

C.  D. 

1C.  D. 

* 

A.B. 

+ 

5 

!A.  B. 

+ 

C.  D. 

C.  D. 

A.B. 

+ 

Here  A.  B.  owes  15  and  2-sixths  of  15. 


TOUKNAMENTS  279 

10.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Linesman  to  call  faults 
and  to  decide  strokes  relating  to  the  line  or  lines 
to  which  he  is  assigned  and  to  said  line  or  lines 
only,  and  such  decision  shall  be  final.     [Words 
limiting  the  finality  of  the  decision  of  the  Lines- 
man to  questions  of  fact  are  here  desirable.    The 
right  of  appeal  from  him  to  the  Umpire  on  a 
question   of  law  should  be   stated. — P.   A.  V.] 
Should  the  Linesman  be  unable  to  give  a  decision, 
the  Umpire  shall  decide  or  shall  direct  the  stroke 
to  be  played  again. 

11.  The  decision  of  an  Umpire  shall  be  final 
upon  every  question  of  fact,  and  no  competitor 
may  appeal  from  it ;  but  if  an  Umpire  be  in  doubt 
as  to  a  point  of  law,  or  if  a  competitor  appeal 
against  his  decision  on  such  a  point,  the  Umpire 
shall  submit  it  to  the  Referee  whose  decision  shall 
be  final. 

NOTE — A  question  of  fact  relates  to  events  that  actually 
happened.  A  question  of  law  is  the  construction  and  appli- 
cation of  the  laws  of  the  game  to  the  admitted  facts. 

12.  The  Eeferee  shall  not  bet  on  a  match  nor 
shall  an  Umpire  or  Linesman  on  the  match  to 
which  he  is  assigned.    An  infraction  of  this  rule 
shall  be  followed  by  the  immediate  removal  of  the 
offending  Referee,  Umpire,  or  Linesman  on  the 
complaint  of  any  competitor. 

13.  No  Competitor  may  transfer  his  entry  to 
another  player. 


280  MODERN  TENNIS 

14.  Competitors  shall  have  a  right,  by  them- 
selves or  their  deputies,  to  be  present  at  the  draw. 

15.  The  draw  shall  be  conducted  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:    Each  Competitor's  name  shall  be 
written  on  a  separate  card  or  paper,  and  these 
shall  be  placed  in  a  bowl  or  hat,  drawn  out  one 
by  one  at  random,  and  copied  on  a  list  in  the 
order  in  which  they  have  been  drawn. 

Infraction  of  this  rule  renders  a  Club  or  other 
organization  liable  to  loss  of  its  tournament  for 
the  following  year;  except  that  in  invitation 
tournaments,  and  competitions  between  nations, 
states,  cities,  clubs,  and  similar  bodies  where  the 
competition  is  really  between  such  bodies  and  not 
between  the  players  as  individuals,  players  may  be 
placed  in  such  manner  as  agreed  upon  by  the  man- 
agement of  the  competition,  and  except  that  in  In- 
tercollegiate and  Interscholastic  matches  the  draw 
shall  be  arranged  to  prevent  members  of  the  same 
college  or  school  from  meeting  each  other  in  the 
first  and  second  rounds,  the  draw  in  other  ways  be- 
ing arranged  absolutely  by  chance. 

16.  When  the  number  of  Competitors  is  4,  8, 
16,  32,  64,  or  any  higher  power  of  2,  they  shall 
meet  in  pairs,  in  accordance  with   the   system 
shown  by  the  following  diagram : 


TOURNAMENTS  281 


IST  ROUND 
A   1               2o  ROUND 
?                     B^i 

B    J                                          SD  ROUND 

01      Dj 

n 

D  j      DJ 

E  1             n 

F    J 

G   -I 
\>                         TT 

H  J 

17.  When  the  number  of  Competitors  is  not  a 
power  of  2  there  shall  be  byes  in  the  first  round. 
The  number  of  byes  shall  be  equal  to  the  differ- 
ence between  the  number  of  Competitors  and  the 
next  higher  power  of  2,  and  the  number  of  pairs 
that  shall  meet  in  the  first  round  shall  be  equal 
to  the  difference  between  the  number  of  Com- 
petitors and  the  next  lower  power  of  2.  The  byes, 
if  even  in  number,  shall  be  divided,  as  the  names 
are  drawn,  in  equal  proportions  at  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  list,  above  and  below  the  pairs.  If 
uneven  in  number,  there  shall  be  one  more  bye  at 
the  bottom  than  at  the  top.  Thus — 


282 


MODERN  TENNIS 


-B 


SERIES   1 
From  5  to  8  Competitors 

IST  ROUND 

A   (a  bye) 

B 
C 

D    (a  bye) ! 

E    (a  bye) 1 

With  6,  there  will  be  one  bye  at  the  top,  and  1  bye  at  the 
bottom.    With  7, 1  bye  at  the  bottom.    With  8,  no  byes. 

SERIES    2 

From  9  to  16  Competitors 

With  9,  3  byes  at  the  top,  and  4  byes  at  the  bottom. 
IST  ROUND 

A   (a  bye). ...  A' 


-E 


B    (a  bye)  ----  B 
C    (a  bye)  .  .  .  .  C 


-B 


-E 


F  (a  bye) 

G  (a  bye) 

H  (a  bye).. 

I  (a  bye).. 


F 
G 

..H 
..  I 


-E 


-G 


-G 


With  10,  3  byes  at  the  top  and  3  at  the  bottom. 
With  11,  2  byes  at  the  top,  and  3  at  the  bottom. 
With  12,  2  byes  at  the  top,  and  2  at  the  bottom. 
With  13,  1  bye  at  the  top,  and  2  at  the  bottom. 
With  14,  1  bye  at  the  top,  and  1  at  the  bottom. 
With  15,  1  bye  at  the  bottom. 
With  16,  no  byes. 


TOURNAMENTS 


283 


SERIES  3 

From  17  to  32  Competitors. 
With  17,  7  byes  at  the  top,  and  8  byes  at  the  bottom. 


FIRST 

SECOND      THIRD 

FOURTH     FIFTH 

ROUND 

ROUND 

ROUND 

ROUND      ROUND 

A   (a  bye) 

t 

Al 

B    (a  bye) 

,  , 

B! 

n^ 

C    (a  bye) 

C) 

D   (a  bye) 

„  , 

D  3 

n  "" 

E    (a  bye) 

E) 

F    (a  bye) 

.  , 

} 

I 

-    i 

T 

G    (a  bye) 
Hi 

.. 

Gl 

J 

HJ 

J 

T    ( 

-1    1 

•^ 

ft 

J    (a  bye) 

t  f 

Ji 

*} 

K  (a  bye) 

K  J 

L 

i 

L    (a  bye) 

.  , 

L) 

\           " 
Ml 

M  (a  bye) 

.. 

M} 

o 

N   (a  bye) 

.  . 

N) 

\s 

O    (a  bye) 

•  • 

CM 

rv 

P    (a  bye) 

,4 

PI 

o 

J  __ 

Q    (a  bye) 

.. 

Q* 

—y, 

With  18, 

7 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

7 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  19, 

0 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

T 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  20, 

0 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

0 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  21, 

5 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

(i 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  22, 

5 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

5 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  23, 

4 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

5 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  24, 

4 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

4 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  25, 

3 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

4 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  26, 

3 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

3 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  27, 

2 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

3  byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  28, 

2 

byes 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

2 

byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  29, 

1 

bye 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

2  byes 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  30, 

1 

bye 

at 

the 

top, 

and 

1  bye 

at 

the  bottom. 

With  31, 

1 

bye 

at 

the 

bottom. 

With  32, 

no  byes. 

And  so  on 

with 

larger  numbers 

in 

the 

same  manner. 

284 


MODEBN  TENNIS 


18.  If  a  Competitor  be  absent  when  called  upon 
to  play,  or  shall  refuse  to  play,  or  shall  have  given 
previous  notice  to  the  Eeferee  or  to  a  member  of 
the  Committee  that  he  can  not  play  in  the  next 
round,  his  adversary  shall  win  in  that  round, 
unless  said  Competitor  shall  have  been  formally 
excused  for  a  definite  period  by  the  Beferee. 

19.  In  handicap  matches  the  competitors  shall 
be  handicapped  by  the  Committee,  or  by  a  Handi- 
capper  appointed  by  the  Committee. 

20.  The  method  of  handicapping  shall  be  by 
classes  as  below: — 


Class 


GIVEN  ODDS 

Class  0— (Scratch) 

1  receives  1-sixth    of  15. 


2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 


2-sixths  of  15. 

3-sixths  of  15. 

4-sixths  of  15. 

5-sixths  of  15. 

15. 

15  and  1-sixth    of  15. 

15  and  2-sixths  of  15. 

15  and  3-sixths  of  15. 

15  and  4-sixths  of  15. 

15  and  5-sixths  of  15. 

30. 

30  and  1-sixth    of  15. 

30  and  2-sixths  of  15. 

30  and  3-sixths  of  15. 

30  and  4-sixths  of  15. 

30  and  5-sixths  of  15. 

40. 


When  two  players  in  different  classes  below 
scratch  meet,  the  superior  player  shall  start  from 
scratch,  and  the  odds  received  by  the  inferior 
player  are  as  shown  by  the  annexed  table,  No.  1. 
To  use  the  table,  find  in  the  diagonal  line  of  figures 


TOURNAMENTS  285 

the  number  representing  the  class  of  the  superior 
player,  then  travel  along  the  horizontal  column 
until  the  vertical  column  is  reached  which  bears 
at  the  top  the  number  of  the  class  of  the  inferior 
player.  The  odds  specified  at  the  intersection  of 
the  two  columns  are  the  odds  required. 

Example. — If  class  3  has  to  meet  class  9,  start 
from  the  figure  3  in  the  diagonal  line  of  figures, 
and  look  horizontally  until  the  vertical  column  is 
reached  headed  by  the  figure  9.  The  odds  given 
at  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  two  columns 
(vis.,  15  and  1-6  of  15)  are  the  odds  required. 

When  the  difference  between  the  best  and  the 
worst  players  entered  is  great  (say  more  than  30), 
it  is  desirable  to  handicap  the  best  players  at  owed 
odds.  The  players  above  scratch  (i.e.,  owing 
odds)  should  be  classified  as  follows: — 

OWED   ODDS 

Class  1  owes  1-sixth    of  15. 

"  2  "  2-sixths  of  15. 

"  3  "  3-sixths  of  15. 

"  4  "  4-sixths  of  15. 

"  5  "  5-sixths  of  15. 

"  6  "  15. 

"  7  "  15  and  1-sixtb   of  15. 

"  8  "  15  and  2-sixths  of  15. 

"  9  "  15  and  3-sixths  of  15. 

"  10  "  15  and  4-sixths  of  15. 

"  11  "  15  and  5-sixths  of  15. 

"  12  "  30. 

"  13  "  30  and  1-sixth    of  15. 

"  14  "  30  and  2-sixths  of  15. 

"  15  "  30  and  3-sixths  of  15. 

"  16  "  30  and  4-sixths  of  15. 

"  17  "  30  and  5-sixths  of  15. 

"  18  "  40. 


HANDICAPS.  TABLE  No.  1.  (Received  Odds) 

TS,  both  In  receipt  of  odds,  meet,  the  player  receiving  the  smaller  odds  Is  put  back  to  scratch.  The  follow- 
x>lnt  at  which  tne  other  should  then  start.  The  number  at  the  left  of  the  horizontal  columns  denotes  the 
£  to  scratch,  those  at  the  head  of  the  vertical  columns  the  player  who  still  receives  odds  ;  and  the  num- 
nns  show  the  odds  to  be  received  by  the  player  whose  number  stands  at  the  bead  of  the  column. 

00   • 

m 

in 

m 

^ 

TJ- 

CO 

CM 

_ 

_ 

in 

co 

m 

CM                     "~ 

CD> 
•^J- 

0 
CO 

CO 

CO 

o 
co 

co 

0 
CO 

0 

CO 

0 

CO 

0 
CO 

0 
CO 

in 

in 

iri    «o  10  "o 

N10 

in 

„. 

^. 

CO 

CM 

_ 

_ 

in 

^. 

CM 

w. 

10    in  in 
"""  l*^ 

"o    "o   "o   r^ 

_l  CD 
«•"!  CO 

C3 
CO 

0 

co 

0 

co 

0 

CO 

0 
CO 

o 

CO 

0 

co 

CD 
CO 

in 

in 

in 

m 

CO* 

CO 

CO 

CXI 

CM 

__ 

in 

^. 

CO 

CM 

in 

in 

'o 

m    10 

zco 

0       0   TH 

»Hg 

<=> 

CO 

0 
CO 

CO 

CO 

0 
CO 

o 

CO 

0 

co 

in 

in 

m 

£ 

103 

»H  CO 

CM 

CM 

_ 

_ 

in 

10 

TT 

CO 

CM 

in 

in 

in 
"o 

in 

"o 

in 

ZO 

o  ,_| 

<=> 
CO 

CD 

co 

C3 
CO 

c=> 

CO 

C5 
CQ 

m 

in 

m 

in 

^«CM 

_ 

_ 

in 

in 

^_ 

CM 

CM 

^_ 

in 
'o 

in 

*H 

.  O 

»H  co 

0 

co 

0 

co 

0 

co 

CO 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

rA  — 

in 

in 

CO 

CM 

_ 

in 

"o 

10 

"o 

CO 

_L<=> 

^  CO 

o 

CO 

o 

CO 

0 
CO 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

m 

2» 

»H  co 

in 

in 

^. 

*. 

CO 

_ 

in 

in 

in 

"o 

2 

m 

in 

in 

in 

L.O 

in 

in 

in 

i__|lft 

^ 

^. 

CO 

CM 

in 

'o 

in 
"o 

is 

in 

x» 

in 

"o 

S 

»H  ir> 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

O^ 

CO 

r-M 

in 

in 

in 

in 

o 

In  the  case  of  received  odds  — 

§ 

8 

Tt«M  i-l  O5  ,-(        £>  r^ 
(M  IO  iH  «O  T*<      '%  ... 
O  U3  CO  O  GO        go 

5 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

"o 

IT? 

"o 

"o 
x» 

"3 

s 

CO 

05  to 

CM 

in 

in 

in 

in 

in 

0) 

in 

tri 

in 

"o 

"o 

~0 

"o 

coS 

in 

in 

in" 

in 
"o 

in 
"o 

in 

"o 

in 

"S 

00 

b*  in 

in 

in 

in 

"B 
x» 

m 

~o 

in 

in 

"o 

N 

This  table  was  calculated  upon  the 
following  data:  — 

CDi2 

m 

in 

in 

in 

in 

CD 

is 

\« 

x« 

v2 

-\ 

IO 

IO 

in 

m 

in 

10 

m  "    "    ^    -        O  "w 

~      in  .2 
&>                     ^  g 

S  ^    ~    ~    "•         O   oS 

^2:2;     SS 

H                                Hi-1 

IO 

\» 

0 

0 

o 

o 

to 

in 

^0 

in 

"o 

in 

"o 

't 

£~£>"o 
jjll 

J-sffl 
*%« 

p  «-*  o 

IO 

in 
"o 

m 

"o 

co 

10 

C\J  •— 

in 

"o 

CM 

10 

- 

286 


«M 

I 


TAB 


HANDICAPS 


n 
§ 

1 

^ 

CM 

n 

m 

1.0 

in    in  in  "*    W 

> 

-fl 

f 

1- 

1-1 

«4 

o 

T^S 

CO 

0 
CO 

0 

co 

0 
CO 

m 

in 

in 

in 

m 

in 

i 

^    Vjf   ^»    \^    Vf 

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CO 

— 

in 

„, 

CO 

_ 

in 

n 

m 

to   10  «n 

_  N 

^Hco1 

CO 

CO 

CO 

m 

in 

in 

in 

in 

0 
v- 

s 

it 

|  5  i|0  -H 

a 

•a 

si 

CM 
CO 

CO 

CO 

in 

CO 

CM 

in 

ir. 

m 

in 

in 

m    in 

I  Z  0CO 

s 

i-A 

;~ 

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v^    \^         *^ 

1 

i 

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m05 

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in 

^ 

CO 

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in 

in 

in 

m 

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287 


288  MODERN  TENNIS 

When  two  players  in  different  classes  above 
scratch  meet,  the  inferior  player  shall  start  from 
scratch,  and  the  odds  owed  by  the  superior  player 
are  as  shown  by  the  annexed  table,  No.  2. 

This  table  is  to  be  used  in  the  same  way  as  the 
former,  the  class  of  the  superior  player  being 
looked  for  in  the  horizontal  line  of  figures  at  the 
top,  and  the  class  of  the  inferior  player  in  the 
diagonal  line  of  figures. 

Example. — If  class  12  (owe  30)  meet  class  7 
(owe  15  and  1-6  of  15),  the  former  must  owe  the 
latter  the  odds  of  4-6  of  15. 

21.  In  Championship  matches  and  handicaps  by 
classes,  as  above,  advantage  sets  shall  be  played 
throughout. 

22.  The  Committee  may,  whether  appealed  to 
by  any  Competitor  or  not,  postpone  the  meeting 
or  any  match  or  part  of  a  match  if,  in  their  opin- 
ion, the  state  of  the  weather,  or  of  the  light,  or 
the  condition  of  the  ground,  or  other  circum- 
stances, render  it  advisable  to  do  so.    In  cases  of 
postponement,  Law  25  must  be  strictly  observed. 

23.  In  all  Tournaments  sanctioned  by  the  Asso- 
ciation the  use  of  spikes  longer  than  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  is  prohibited.* 


*  I  have  the  authority  of  Mr.  Robert  D.  Wrenn,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  Lawn-Tennis  Association,  for  stating 
that  "one-eighth"  should  read  "one-fourth." 


EEGULATIONS   FOR   INTEESCHOLASTIC 
TOUENAMENTS 

"*^ 

Colleges  or  clubs,  members  directly  or  indiFectly 
of  the  United  States  National  Lawn-Tennis  Asso- 
ciation, may,  with  the  consent  of  the  Association, 
give  Interscholastic  tournaments. 

Players  in  such  tournaments  shall  be  limited  to 
boys  attending  schools  preparing  for  college. 

No  player  shall  take  part  who  is  over  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  no  player  shall  take  part  in  more 
than  one  Interscholastic  event  in  one  year. 

The  winners  of  such  tournaments  shall  be 
eligible  to  play  for  the  Interscholastic  Champion- 
ship at  a  tournament  given  by  the  National  Asso- 
ciation, and  should  a  winner  of  an  Interscholastic 
tournament  be  unable  to  play  for  the  Champion- 
ship the  management  of  the  Interscholastic  which 
he  should  have  represented  shall  have  the  power 
to  appoint  a  substitute,  provided  that  such  sub- 
stitute played  in  the  said  Interscholastic  tourna- 
ment given  that  year.  No  dues  shall  be  required 
by  the  National  Association  other  than  the  regular 
dues  of  the  college  or  club  giving  the  event. 


CASES   AND   DECISIONS 

The  following  Cases  and  Decisions  are  intended 
to  meet  questions  often  asked  at  Tournaments, 
and  also  to  cover  points  apparently  not  provided 
for  in  the  Laws. 

I.  A  player  standing  outside  the  court  volleys 
the  ball  or  catches  it  in  his  hand,  and  claims  the 
stroke  because  the  ball  was  certainly  going  out  of 
court. 

Decision. — He  loses  the  stroke.  It  makes  no 
difference  where  he  was  standing.  The  return  is 
presumed  good  until  it  strikes  the  ground  outside 
of  the  court  [or  the  permanent  appointments  of 
the  court.— P.  A.  V.] 

II.  A  player  is  struck  by  the  ball  served  before 
it  has  touched  the  ground,  he  being  outside  of  the 
service-court.    How  does  it  count? 

Decision. —  The  player  struck  loses  the  stroke. 
The  service  is  presumably  good  until  it  strikes  in 
the  wrong  court.  A  player  can  not  take  the  de- 
cision upon  himself  by  stopping  the  ball.  If  it  is 
going  to  be  a  fault,  he  has  only  to  get  out  of  the 
way. 

III.  The  service  is  delivered  before  the  striker- 
out  is  ready.    He  tries  to  return  it  and  fails.    Is 
he  entitled  to  have  it  played  over  again? 

Decision. — No.  If  he  attempts  to  return  the 
service  he  is  deemed  ready. 

290 


CASES   AND   DECISIONS  291 

IV.  The  striker-out  calls  "Not  ready,"  for  a 
second  service.    The  ball  strikes  beyond  the  serv- 
ice-line, and  the  striker-out  claims  that  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  ready  makes  no  difference,  since 
a  fault  can  not  be  returned,  and,  therefore,  that 
two  faults  have  been  served. 

Decision. — The  second  service  goes  for  nothing. 
A  player  can  not  call  "Not  ready,"  and  then  have 
the  service  count,  or  not,  as  suits  his  interests. 

V.  A  ball  having  been  played  over  the  net 
bounds  back  into  the  court  from  which  it  came. 
The  player  reaches  over  the  net  and  plays  it 
before  it  falls.    Has  he  a  right  to  do  so? 

Decision. — Yes,  provided  he  does  not  touch  the 
net.*  He  has  a  right  to  play  the  ball  at  any  time 
from  the  moment  it  crosses  the  net  into  his  court 
until  it  touches  the  ground  a  second  time. 

VI.  A  ball  is  played  into  the  net;  the  player 
on  the  other  side,  thinking  that  the  ball  is  coming 
over,  strikes  at  it  and  hits  the  net.    Who  loses  the 
stroke  ? 

Decision. — It  is  simply  a  question  of  fact  for 
the  umpire  to  decide.    If  the  player  touched  the 
net  while  the  ball  was  still  in  play  he  loses  the 
stroke. 
[The  ball  is  in  play  until  it  has  rolled  or  fallen 

back  from  the  net  to  the  court.    This  is  not 

generally  recognized. — P.  A.  V.] 


*  The  words  "while  the  ball  is  in  play"  should  be  added 
here.— P.  A.  V. 


292  MODERN  TENNIS 

VII.  Can  a  player  follow  a  ball  over  the  net 
with  his  racket,  provided  that  he  hits  the  ball  on 
his  own  side  of  the  net? 

Decision. — Yes.  The  only  restrictions  are  that 
he  shall  not  volley  the  ball  until  it  has  crossed 
the  net,  and  that  he  shall  not  touch  the  net  or  any 
of  its  supports. 

VIII.  A  player's  racket  slips  out  of  his  hand 
and  flies  into  the  net.    Does  he  lose  the  stroke  for 
hitting  the  net? 

Decision. — Yes,  if  the  ball  be  still  in  play.  It 
does  not  matter  if  the  racket  be  in  a  player's  hand 
or  not. 

IX.  A  player's  racket  leaves  his  hand,  but  meets 
the  ball  and  returns  it  over  the  net.    Is  it  a  good 
return. 

Decision. — Yes.  There  is  no  law  requiring  a 
racket  to  be  in  a  player's  hand  when  the  ball  is 
returned.  It  would  unquestionably  be  a  good 
return  if  the  racket  were  held  against  the  ground 
by  a  player's  feet,  and  the  ball  bounded  back  off  it. 

X.  A  single  match  is  played  with  a  double  net 
and  inside  posts.    A  player  touches  the  net  be- 
yond the  inside  posts,  and  claims  that  he  does  not 
lose  the  stroke  because  there  should  be  no  net 
more  than  three  feet  outside  of  the  court. 

Decision. — He  loses  the  stroke.  The  net  where 
he  touches  it  is  part  of  the  supports  of  the  net. 
He  might,  perhaps,  have  objected  to  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  net  before  the  match. 


CASES   AND   DECISIONS  293 

XL  A  player  returns  the  ball,  and,  finding  that 
he  can  not  stop  himself  before  reaching  the  net, 
jumps  over  it.  Is  it  a  good  return! 

Decision. — Law  4  requires  that  "the  players 
shall  stand  on  opposite  sides  of  the  net,'*  and 
therefore  the  player  in  invading  his  opponent's 
court  loses  the  stroke. 

[The  decision  in  this  case  must,  it  seems,  rest  on 
the  question  as  to  whether  the  ball  is  in  play  or 
not.  If  the  player,  for  example,  were  to  smash 
the  return  on  to  an  opposing  player,  and  then, 
not  being  able  to  stop,  jump  the  net,  the  return 
should  be  good. — P.  A.  V.] 

XII.  A  ball  passes  outside  the  post  of  the  net 
and  strikes  in  court.    Is  it  a  good  return? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XIII.  A  ball  going  out  of  court  hits  the  top  of 
the  post  of  the  net  and  bounds  into  the  opposite 
court. 

Decision. — It  is  a  good  return. 

XIV.  The  service  or  the  ball  in  play  strikes  a 
ball  lying  in  the  court.     Can  it  be  returned? 

Decision.— Yes,  if  it  be  clear  to  the  umpire  that 
the  right  ball  is  returned. 

XV.  The  server  claims  that  the  striker-out  must 
stand  in  the  court.    Is  this  necessary? 

Decision.— No.  The  striker-out  can  stand 
wherever  he  pleases  on  his  own  side  of  the  net. 

XVI.  A  bystander  gets  in  the  way  of  a  player, 


294:  MODERN  TENNIS 

who  fails  to  return  the  ball.    May  he  then  claim 
a  let! 

Decision. — Yes,  if,  in  the  umpire's  opinion,  he 
was  prevented  by  an  accident  beyond  his  control. 
For  instance,  if  the  ropes  or  the  seats  are  allowed 
to  be  so  near  to  the  court  that  a  player  is  inter- 
fered with  by  them,  the  stroke  should  not  be 
played  again,  because  the  ropes  and  seats  form 
part  of  the  arrangements  of  the  ground.  If,  how- 
ever, a  spectator  passes  in  front  of  those  seats,  or 
places  a  chair  nearer  than  the  original  line,  and 
so  interferes  with  a  player,  the  stroke  should  be 
played  again. 

XVII.  A  player  is  interfered  with  as  above, 
and  the  umpire  directs  the  stroke  to  be  played 
again.    The  server  had  previously  served  a  fault. 
He  claims  the  right  to  two  services. 

Decision. — The  fault  stands.  A  let  does  not 
annul  a  previous  fault. 

XVIII.  A  return  hits  the  umpire,  or  his  chair 
or  stand,  the  player  claims  that  the  ball  was  going 
into  court. 

Decision. — Stroke  is  lost. 

XIX.  A  player  receiving  fifteen,  serves  from 
the  left  court.    His  opponent  claims  a  fault. 

Decision. — It  is  a  fault.  The  service  starts 
from  the  right  court  under  all  circumstances. 

XX.  At  fifteen-all  the  server  by  mistake  serves 
from  the  left  court,  he  wins  the  stroke  and  serves 
again  a  fault,  the  mistake  is  then  discovered.    Is 


CASES   AND   DECISIONS  295 

/ 

lie  entitled  to  the  previous  stroke?    From  which 
court  should  he  serve  next? 

Decision. — The  previous  stroke  stands.  A  fault 
can  not  be  claimed  after  the  next  service,  good  or 
not,  is  delivered.  The  next  service  should  be  from 
the  left  court,  the  score  being  thirty-fifteen,  and 
the  server  has  served  one  fault. 

XXI.  A  player  serves  from  the  wrong  court,  he 
loses  the  stroke,  and  then  claims  that  it  was  a  fault. 

Decision. — If  the  stroke  was  played  on  his  first 
service  it  is  simply  a  fault,  but  if  he  serves  twice 
into  the  wrong  court  he  has  served  two  faults,  and 
lost  the  stroke. 

XXII.  The  score  is  five  games  all,  and  the  um- 
pire directs  the  players  to  play  an  advantage  set. 
The  advantage  game  has  been  won,  when  it  is  dis- 
covered that  no  advantage  sets  are  to  be  played. 
What  is  to  be  done? 

Decision. — The  set  is  won  at  the  eleventh  game. 
It  is  no  part  of  the  umpire's  duty  to  decide  on  the 
conditions  of  the  matches. 

XXIII.  A  player  serves.    He  hears  the  umpire 
call,  but  can  not  hear  what  he  says.    He  knows 
that  the  only  two  things  that  the  umpire  should 
call  are  "fault"  and  "let,"  and  that  in  neither 
case  can  the  ball  be  in  play.    He,  therefore,  does 
not  return  it,  only  to  find  that  the  umpire  has 
called  "play."    Has  he  any  redress? 

Decision. — No. 

XXIV.  The  umpire  calls  "fault,"  and  then  in- 


296  MODERN  TENNIS 

stantly  changes  and  says  "play."  The  striker- 
out  fails  to  return  the  ball,  and  he  claims  he  was 
prevented  by  the  umpire,  and  also  that  the  umpire 
can  not  change  his  decision. 

Decision. — The  umpire  should  call  a  let  and  the 
service  be  taken  again. 

XXV.  A  ball  drops  near  a  line,  the  player  ap- 
peals, and  the  umpire  calls  "play."     The  player 
misunderstands  the  call  and  lets  the  ball  fall.    He 
then  claims  to  have  the  stroke  played  again. 

Decision. — The  stroke  stands. 

XXVI.  The  ball  strikes  the  ground  close  to  a 
line,   the  scorer   scores   the   stroke   against   the 
striker.    On  appeal  to  the  linesman,  the  latter  de- 
cided that  the  ball  was  not  out.    Which  decision 
stands  1 

Decision. — The  scorer  has  no  right  to  consider 
a  ball  out  until  the  linesman  has  called  to  that 
effect;  therefore,  the  decision  of  the  latter  must 
be  accepted.  The  decision  of  a  linesman  affecting 
his  own  line  is  final. 
[The  decision  of  a  linesman  "affecting  his  own 

line  is  final"  only  as  to  matters  of  fact.    On 

questions  of  law  an  appeal  lies  to  the  referee. 
-P.  A.  V.] 

XXV1L  A  return  strikes  the  cord  running 
along  the  bottom  of  the  net  and  bounds  over.  Is 
it  a  good  return? 

Decision. — Yes. 
[This  is  a  very  doubtful  decision.      Unless  the 


CASES   AND   DECISIONS  297 

cord  were  a  hawser  it  would  be  impossible 
for  any  ball  to  "bound"  over  without  also 
striking  the  court  were  it  a  hard  court  or  turf, 
but  if  the  net  were  tightly  strung  and  the  bottom 
cord  some  distance  from  the  court  the  return 
would  be  good,  if  the  ball  hit  the  cord  and 
"climbed"  over,  as  is  possible.  I  have  seen  a 
ball  with  top  spin  hit  the  net  half-way  down, 
drive  it  in,  and  as  the  net  swung  back  run  up  it 
and  fall  over,  a  perfectly  good  return. — P.A.V.] 

XXVIII.  During  play  a  ball  is   thrown   into 
court,  and  the  ball  in  play  strikes  it  or  a  player 
steps  on  it.    May  a  let  be  claimed? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XXIX.  The  server's  first  service  strikes  his 
partner.    Does  he  lose  the  stroke  or  is  it  a  fault? 

Decision. — A  fault. 

XXX.  A  player  serves  a  fault  and  it  is  then  dis- 
covered that  it  is  his  partner's  service.    Does  the 
fault  stand? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XXXI.  In    a    four-handed    competition    one 
player  does  not  appear  in  time  to  play,  and  his 
partner  claims  to  be  allowed  to  play  single-handed 
against  the  opposing  pair.    May  he  do  so? 

Decision. — No. 


INDEX 


ABSENCE  of  competitor,  284. 

American  service,  58,  122,  123; 
and  Dohertys,  53. 

Angles  of  court,  how  to  study, 
184. 

Anticipation,  value  of,  163. 

Arm,  left,  balance  of,  83. 

Australasian  and  English  ten- 
nis compared,  199. 

BACKHAND  DRIVE,  spin  of,  96; 
English  grip,  85  el  seq;  firm 
finish,  96;  standard,  236; 
stroke,  32;  which  side  of 
racket  to  use,  87. 

Background,  3. 

Baddeley,  W.,  157. 

Ball,  flight  of,  51;  in  play, 
touching  player,  250;  rising, 
how  to  play,  79;  too  close  to, 
29;  when  in  play,  249. 

Balls,  size  and  weight  of,  247. 

Barrett  H.  Boper,  240,  243. 

Betting,  279. 

Brookes,  Norman  E.,  9,  87,  114, 
117,  129,  202,  240,  241;  and 
Davis  Cup  matches,  230;  his 
backhand,  244;  and  service, 
233. 

Bnndy,  Thomas  C.,  128,  244, 
245. 

Byes,  in  draw,  281. 

CARIDIA,  G.  A.,  219. 
Cases  and  decisions,  290. 
Centering  the  service  in  doubles, 

170. 

Center-theory,  152. 
Certainty  before  pace,  30. 
Challenge  cup,  deed  of  gift  for, 

274. 

Change  of  sides,  251. 
Chop,    52,    99  j    flight    of,    99; 

must  be  played  smartly,  102; 

on  net,  71. 


Combined  doubles,  178. 
Competitor,  absent,  284. 
Court,  the,  1;  angles  of,  how  to 

study,  184;  how  to  mark,  4; 

plan  of,  7;  plan  of,  in  rules, 

246. 

Criticism  of  laws,  257. 
Cut  drive,  77. 

DAVIS  CUP,  how  America  can  re- 
gain, 222;  regulations,  264. 

de  Borman,  M.  Paul,  81. 

Decisions,  290. 

Deed  of  gift  of  Challenge  Cup, 
274. 

Dimensions  of  court,  2,  3. 

Dixon,  C.  P.,  240. 

Dohertys  and  American  service, 
53. 

Doherty,  H.  L.,  85,  86, 117,  214; 
late  B.  F.,  85,  86. 

Dohertys,  Messrs,  40,  41,  85, 
202;  and  stroke  production, 
88. 

Doubles,  167;  center  drive  in, 
167;  eross-conrt  drive  in, 
168;  ladies',  188;  lob  in,  168; 
side-line  drive  in,  168. 

Draw,  byes  in,  281;  competi- 
tors' right  to  attend,  280; 
the,  in  tournaments,  280. 

Dress,  10. 

Drive,  center,  in  doubles,  167; 
forehand  lifting,  66;  the 
backhand,  82;  with  cut,  77. 

Dunlop,  A.  W.,  202. 

ELBOW  and  backhand,  93. 

English,  and  Australasian  ten- 
nis compared,  199;  grip,  89; 
grip  of  racket,  85;  tennis, 
204. 

Evelegh.  late  B.  C.,  117. 

Eye  on  the  ball,  19,  35. 


889 


300 


INDEX 


FACT,  questions  of,  134. 

Faults,  law  of,  248. 

Feet,  position  for  backhand,  33 ; 

position  for  forehand,  28. 
Flight    of   forehand   drive,   68, 

69;  of  various  balls,  105. 
Foot-faults,  115, 130;  foot-fault 

rule,  247. 
Foot-work,    E.    N.    Williams 's 

bad,  232,  233. 
Forehand  »drive   with   lift,   66; 

stroke,  27. 
Forest  Hills,  243. 
Form,  American  lack  of,  222; 

how  acquired,  234. 
Foul  services,  115. 
Foundation-stroke     of     tennis, 

26. 

GOBERT  ANDR£,  86,  90,  244. 
Gore,  A.  W.,  90,  199,  218,  231, 
240. 


HALF- VOLLEY,  the,  36;  correct- 
ing angle,  38 ;  covering  bound, 
38. 

Handicapping,  255,  284  et  seq. 

Hillyard,  George  W.,  138,  220. 

Hold  of  racket,  14. 

IMPLEMENTS,  9. 
International,      championship 
regulations,  264;  tennis,  239. 
Interscholastie  tournaments,  289. 

LADIES'  SINGLES,  183. 

Ladies,  the,  140;  and  volleying, 
143. 

Lamed,  W.  A.,  116;  his  strokes, 
234. 

Law  of  the  game  in  decisions, 
290. 

Laws,  criticism  of,  257;  of  ten- 
nis, 246. 

Let,  250;  in  service,  249. 

Lift,  52;  climbing  net,  71;  how 
to  learn,  75;  tendencies  of, 
73. 

Lifting  drive,  merit  of,  72. 

Linesman's  duties,  279. 


Lob,  backhand,  50;  cut,  107; 
dividing  the  distance,  189; 
flight  of  cut  lob,  107;  halv- 
ing distance  in,  161 ;  the,  49, 
160. 

Lob-volley,  the,  45. 

McLouGHLiN,  MAURICE  E.,  24, 
114,  120,  121,  127,  223,  226; 
and  overspin,  231;  backhand 
stroke,  224,  228,  236,  237; 
his  game  unbalanced,  223. 

McLoughlin  's  backhand  in 
Davis  Cup  matches,  229;  his 
follow-through,  227;  his  fore- 
hand, 225 ;  his  form  in  ser- 
vice and  smash,  230. 

Management  of  tournaments, 
272. 

Meers,  E.  G.,  219. 

Mixed  doubles,  178. 

NET  BALL,  249. 

Net,  playing  too  close  to,  232; 
posts,  6 ;  single  and  double,  8. 
Newport,  119,  136. 

ODDS,  reduction  of,  284  et  seq. 

PARKE,  J.  C.  240,  242. 

Passing  shot,  slow,  160. 

Pell,   T.   E.,   97;    his  backhand 

stroke,     235;     his     forehand 

stroke,  235. 
Personalities,  213. 
Plane  of  force  in  backhand,  87. 
Practise,  189. 

President  U.  S.  L.  T.  A.,  262. 
Pull,  the,  78. 

EACKETS,  9. 

Eacket,    care    of,    13 ;    English 

grip  of,  14;  English  hold  of, 

89;  grip  of,  14;   held  firmly, 

30 ;  how  to  hold,  24. 
Eeceiver's  partner,  position  of, 

174  et  seq. 

Eeduction  of  odds,  284  et  seq. 
Best,  during  match,  252. 
Eeverse  American  service,  58  et 

seq. 
Eiseley,  F.  L.,  218. 


INDEX 


301 


Eising  ball,  how  to  play,  79. 
Eitchie,  M.  J.  G.,  216,  220,  240. 
Eotation,  effect  of,  72. 

SCORE-SHEETS,  276,  277,  278. 

Scoring,  method  of,  250,  275. 

Seabright,  135. 

Service,  18,  150 ;  alternate  deliv- 
ery, 248;  American,  58,  61, 
62,  63,  122,  123;  American, 
swerve  in  bound,  125;  await- 
ing the,  23;  ball  too  far  in 
front,  106 ;  cardinal  rules  of, 
25;  center-theory  in,  170; 
chop,  64;  forehand  cut,  52, 
55;  how  to  receive,  155; 
swerve  in  bound  of  American 
service,  125;  may  not  be 
taken  by  partner,  254;  not  to 
be  volleyed,  249;  out  of  turn, 
253 ;  placing  the,  21 ;  position 
of  receiver,  155;  return  of, 
151;  reverse  overhead  cut,  52, 
57,  59;  the  modern,  114;  un- 
derhand cut,  58,  60. 

Shoes,  10;  English,  11. 

Sides,  change  of,  251. 

Single  game,  the,  148. 

Sixths  system  of  handicapping, 
255. 

Slacking,  danger  of,  166. 

Slow  passing  shots,  160. 

Smash,  the,  46;  the  bounding, 
112. 

Smashing,  important  points,  47. 

Smith,  S.  H.,  218 ;  and  forehand 
drive,  231. 

Spin,  varieties  of,  52. 

Striker-out  not  ready,  249. 

Striker-out  'a  partner,  position 
of,  174  et  seq. 

Strokes— Class  II,  55. 

Stroke,  foundation,  in  tennis, 
26. 

Strokes,  plain,  Class  I,  18; 
should  be  standardized,  234  j 
with  and  without  spin,  17. 


Sun,  and  court,  3. 

THEORY  of  center  play,  152. 
Top  spin,  52. 
Toss  for  side,  247. 
Tournament  play,  192. 
Tournaments,     regulations    for 

management,  272. 
Training,  195. 

UMPIRE'S  decision,  279. 
Umpiring  and  linesmen,  197. 
Unchanged  grip,  85. 
United   States  National  Lawn- 
Tennis  Association,  133. 

VAILE,  P.  A.,  116, 138. 

Volley,  the,  and  Messrs.  Doher- 
ty,  40,  41 ;  overhead,  46 ;  over- 
head backhand,  47;  the,  39; 
the  cut,  111. 

Volleying  and  the  net,  43; 
axioms,  41 ;  for  ladies,  143. 

Volleys,  lifting,  112. 

WARD  HOLCOMBE,  218. 

Weight  in  stroke,  27;  transfer- 
ence of,  19,  35. 

Westchester,  136. 

West  Side  Tennis  Club,  Presi- 
dent of,  121. 

Wilding,  A.  F.,  86,  118,  127, 
149,  243;  and  Davis  Cup 
matches,  230;  and  forehand, 
232;  his  backhand,  244. 

Williams,  E.  N.,  2d,  228,  244; 
and  backhand,  232;  and 
backhand  stroke,  232,  233; 
and  Davis  Cup  matches,  230 ; 
and  foot-work,  232,  233. 

Wimbledon,  137,  203,  224. 

Wrenn,  Eobert  D.,  262,  288. 

Wright,  Beals  C.,  218. 

Wrist  and  backhand,  93 ;  firm  in 
stroke,  235;  work  in  back- 
hand, 84. 

Women,  English,  and  grip,  90. 

World's  championship,  224. 


1 . 

/ 


THE    MODERN   FOREHAND         305 

The  third  picture  in  plate  49  shows  a  character- 
istic finish  of  one  of  Johnston's  forehand  drives. 
In  this  stroke  his  foot- work,  as  usual,  is  very  good, 
and  the  finish  generally  is  in  good  form.  John- 
ston does  not  overdo  top-spin,  as  do  so  many. 
There  is  not  much  art  in  getting  top-spin ;  there  is 
much  in  regulating  it.  Too  much  top-spin  slows 
the  flight  of  the  ball.  Notice  again  in  this  picture 
the  perfectly  straight  line  from  Johnston's  elbow 
to  the  neck  of  the  racket,  and  the  grip,  with  the 
hand  behind  the  racket.  Observe  also  the  posi- 
tion of  Johnston's  feet  which,  on  the  forehand,  is 
generally  very  good. 

The  first  position  in  Plate  50  shows  Johnston 
finishing  a  forehand  volley.  We  see  again  in  this 
stroke  the  all-important  straight  line  from  elbow 
to  the  throat  of  the  racket.  It  is  impossible  to 
over-emphasize  this  matter.  It  is  the  secret  of 
the  soundness  of  Johnston's  game,  and  he  is  cer- 
tainly the  soundest  player  in  America  to-day; 
and  he  could  be  very  much  sounder  if  he 
would  take  the  tvouble  to  learn  a  few  of  the 
finer  points  «^  '  ^a:ne  that  have  escaped  him, 
as,  for  ir  proper  backhand  drive,  the 

full  sc;  •  theory,  the  correct  position 

f-  r  in  following  up  the  service, 

an^.  .  _  .  the  left  arm  and  hand  to  bal- 

ance, his  stroKe.  .  such  a  little,  light  fellow  as 
Johnston  this  is  of  more  importance  than  in  the 
case  of  nine  of  every  ten  players. 

This  matter  of  balance  by  the  left  hand  should 
receive  more  attention  than  it  does.  Imagine  a 


306  MODERN   TENNIS 

ball  player  trying  to  pitch  with  his  left  hand  and 
arm  flopping  loosely  about.  The  tennis  player 
should  always  have  the  left  hand  loosely  clenched 
and  the  arm  and  shoulder  working  so  that  it  forms 
a  firmly  knit  unit  of  the  torso,  so  that  in  the  swing 
of  the  body  in  service,  drive,  or  smash,  it  does 
its  share  of  the  stroke,  even  as  it  would  in  a  fight, 
or  in  throwing  a  stone  or  putting  a  weight. 

The  second  picture  of  Plate  50  shows  Johnston 
finishing  a  backhand  stroke.  Several  years  ago 
he  played  this  stroke  better  than  he  does  now. 
The  first  time  I  saw  him  play  he  hardly  knew  how 
to  miss  a  stroke  on  this  hand.  He  played  every 
ball  with  a  chop,  but  so  wonderfully  well-con- 
trolled was  his  stroke,  and  so  perfect  his  foot- 
work, that  he  did  not  seem  to  suffer  from  his  lack 
of  the  proper  backhand  stroke  with  its  valuable 
quick-dropping  qualities. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  that  I  am  finding  fault 
with  the  backhand  chop  or  the  backhand  cut, 
both  of  which  Johnston  used  very  well  and  still 
uses,  but  it  is  ridiculous  for  a  player  of  John- 
ston's caliber  to  be  without  a  backhand  drive,  one 
of  the  strongest  and  most  useful  strokes  in  the 
game. 

The  lack  of  this  stroke  probably  cost  Johnston 
the  championship  in  his  match  against  Williams 
last  year,  for  he  had,  since  winning  his  title,  ac- 
quired the  extremely  dangerous  habit  of  playing 
his  backhand  across  his  body ;  that  is  to  say,  with 
both  feet  facing  the  net,  instead  of  being  used  as 
shown  in  the  picture  under  consideration,  where 


THE   MODERN   FOREHAND         307 

the  footwork  is  quite  good.  This  picture  shows 
the  looseness  of  the  left  hand  that  I  have  referred 
to.  It  connotes  a  lack  of  intention  on  the  left  side 
of  the  body.  This  must  interfere  with  the  action 
of  the  right  side. 

Notice,  in  this  backhand  stroke,  how  much  be- 
hind the  racket  is  Johnston's  hand  and  observe 
carefully  that  on  this  hand  also  both  forearm  and 
racket  handle  are  in  the  same  straight  line  or 
plane  of  force.  Johnston's  hand  is,  if  anything, 
a  little  high  on  the  handle  of  the  racket,  but  this 
is  true  form  and  makes  for  perfect  production  of 
the  stroke  because  he  is  hitting  downward  as  his 
stroke  is  a  chop.  Similarly,  of  course,  on  the 
forehand,  one,  in  playing  the  chop,  shifts  the  hold 
up  a  little. 

Anyone  interested  in  the  proper  production  of 
the  backhand  stroke  should  study  this  chop 
stroke  and  its  production  carefully,  noting  par- 
ticularly how  the  weight  of  the  blow  falls  across 
the  wrist  in  the  way  in  which  it  practically  can  not 
yield  to  the  shock.  It  is  this  characteristic  that 
gives  Johnston  so  much  speed  on  his  backhand 
that  it  puzzles  his  opponents  at  times  to  know 
whence  it  comes. 

The  third  picture  in  plate  50  was  chosen  to 
show,  in  a  most  pronounced  manner,  the  remark- 
able nature  of  Johnston's  forehand  grip.  Notice 
here  that  in  this  photograph,  taken  in  actual  play, 
he  is  right  behind  his  racket  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  even  I  have  advocated  consistently 
and  persistently  ever  since,  in  1903,  I  became 


308  MODERN    TENNIS 

acquainted  with  the  unsound  English  methods, 
which,  even  before  the  war,  had  practically  ruined 
the  game  in  England. 

This  picture  shows,  in  a  remarkable  manner, 
how  the  force  of  the  blow  falls  on  Johnston's 
wrist  across  the  flat  of  it  and  not  on  the  joint  in 
the  way  it  bends  naturally.  When  the  wrist  is 
held  firmly  in  this  manner  there  is  practically  no 
give  in  it.  Anyone  knows  that  resilience  on 
resilience  will  not  produce  much  bound.  Drop 
a  golf  ball  on  a  rubber  floor  and  there  will  not 
be  much  bound.  Let  it  fall  the  same  distance  on 
to  a  marble  floor  and  it  will  bound  much  more 
freely.  In  tennis  the  English  stroke  is  the  rub- 
ber floor,  the  stroke  advocated  by  me  a  hardwood 
floor  and  Johnston's  the  marble.  It  is  the  most 
inflexible  hit  in  the  game,  in  service,  on  forehand, 
and  on  the  backhand. 

I  am  not,  even  after  twenty  years '  experience  of 
it,  prepared  to  say  that  this  hold  is  superior  to 
those  laid  down  in  the  body  of  this  book;  indeed 
for  the  vast  majority  of  players  and  would-be 
players,  it  will  still  be  found  that  the  grips  and 
methods  advocated  in  " Modern  Tennis"  since 
1904  are  the  best,  but  the  time  has  arrived  to  place 
on  record  and  fully  to  consider  the  possibilities 
of  the  prevalent  Californian  grip.  I  repeat  that 
ten  years  ago  I  said  that  any  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  the  forehand  drive  would  come  from  this 
hold.  I  knew  it  for  ten  years  before  that  time.  I 
do  not  think  that  I  can  be  accused  of  undue  haste 
in  trying  to  urge  it  on  the  tennis-players  of  the 


THE    MODERN   FOREHAND         309 

world.  The  importance  of  Johnston's  win  is  that 
he  uses  this  grip,  that  with  it,  he,  a  mere  slip  of 
a  lad,  apparently  without  undue  exertion,  gets  re- 
sults that  have  puzzled  the  greatest  players.  That 
is  what  has  earned  Johnston  his  place  in  the  illus- 
trious company  in  this  book.  His  performance 
in  itself  might  not  have  been  of  any  importance 
to  the  game,  for  somebody  has  to  win  the  cham- 
pionship every  year,  and  any  one  of  a  dozen  other 
players  might  have  won  whose  work  might  have 
carried  no  message  to  the  tennis  world.  With 
Johnston  it  is  another  matter.  He  has  proved 
what  I  said  ten  years  ago  of  the  future  of  the 
forehand  drive.  The  grip  has  passed  beyond  any 
question  of  theory.  It  has  arrived  and  taken  its 
place.  It  remains  to  be  seen  if  it  will  oust  the 
old  grips.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Johnston 
will  have  innumerable  imitators,  especially  in  Cali- 
fornia and  other  places  where  the  ball  has  a  high 
bound.  Already  there  is  quite  a  small  army  of 
them  in  California,  where  many  of  them  are  ruin- 
ing their  backhands  by  trying  to  retain  the  fore- 
hand grip  for  the  backhand  drive  with  a  free  fol- 
low-through instead  of  the  chop  as  used  by  John- 
ston. This  is  not  entirely  impractical,  but  there 
are  not  many  whom  it  suits.  Generally  speaking, 
some  slight  readjustment  is  necessary. 

The  importance  of  a  good  forehand  drive  is 
shown  by  what  has  been  done  by  men  like  A.  W. 
Gore  and  S.  H.  Smith  practically  on  one  stroke, 
the  forehand  drive.  It  is  certainly  well  worth 
while  for  anyone,  who  can  not  cultivate  a  good 


310  MODERN   TENNIS 

forehand  drive  with  the  ordinary  grip,  to  try  the 
new  hold.  It  unquestionably  gives  greater  pace 
and  one  can  get  a  great  grip  of  the  ball  which  pro- 
duces plenty  of  top-spin  and  gives  excellent  con- 
trol, so,  for  about  nine  of  ten  players  at  least, 
there  can  be  nothing  against  trying  it. 

Speaking  of  Johnston's  lack  of  knowledge  of 
some  of  the  finer  points  of  the  game,  reminds  me 
of  his  match  against  Williams  when  he  lost  his 
title.  In  this  game  his  backhand  work  was  at 
times  very  bad.  He  pulled  right  across  his  body 
time  and  again  with  both  feet  facing  the  net — 
an  impossible  position  and  one  that  cost  him  many 
points.  His  following  up  of  his  poorly  placed 
service  was  bad  both  as  regards  pace  and  position. 
Half  his  time  he  was  trying  to  scoop  the  ball  off 
the  court  by  half  volleys  a  yard  or  two  behind  the 
service  line.  This,  of  course,  is  not  modern  tennis 
and  can  not  successfully  be  tried  against  Williams. 

Not  only  was  Johnston  too  slow  in  following  up 
his  service,  but  he  was  too  stereotyped.  He  ran 
always  to  the  same  place  in  either  half -court,  irre- 
spective of  where  he  had  placed  his  service.  When 
he  learns  a  little  more  about  center  theory  and 
bisecting  the  available  angle  of  return,  he  will 
be  a  much  more  formidable  player.  It  would 
have  been  much  better  for  him  not  to  have  run 
in  consistently  than  to  have  taken  the  slow  trot 
to  the  wrong  place  that  he  did  after  nearly  every 
service.  Center  theory  is  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able of  point-winning  tactics,  but  running  down 
the  center  of  the  court  and  stopping  short  of  the 


THE   MODERN   FOREHAND         311 

service  line  on  diagonal  or  centered  services, 
without  discrimination,  was  neither  center  theory 
nor  properly  bisecting  the  available  angle  of  re- 
turn. When,  added  to  this,  Johnston's  backhand 
was  failing  him,  mainly  owing  to  his  bad  foot- 
work, it  was  not  surprizing  that  Williams'  supe- 
rior strength  and  condition  turned  the  scale. 

Young  fellows  of  Johnston's  age,  who  are  suc- 
cessful in  games,  are  prone  to  presume  a  little, 
to  take  liberties  with  the  game  and  themselves. 
It  has  been  even  so  with  Johnston.  He  took  it 
for  granted  he  could  repeat  his  performance  and 
it  was  indeed  a  very  close  thing,  as  we  know,  but 
Johnston  'has  not  any  frame  to  waste.  When  he 
won  he  was  all  wire  and  whipcord.  He  was  not 
so  last  year  and  unless  he  trains  for  it  this  year 
by  other  means  than  tennis  he  will  not  be  fit  for 
championship  tennis  in  August. 

Johnston's  win  emphasized  the  importance  of 
form.  His  defeat  emphasized  the  importance  of 
form,  and  of  training  to  sustain  form.  Now  I 
have  never  worried  much  about  training.  I  have 
been  lazy  about  it,  and  having  been  very  strong 
and  active,  I  have  never  troubled  much  about  it ; 
but  Johnston's  defeat  should  carry  the  lesson  of 
importance  to  all  tennis  players,  especially  those 
of  frail  physique,  that  tennis  alone  is  not  neces- 
sarily the  best  training  for  tennis.  It  unques- 
tionably is  useful  for  some  to  have  a  bit  of 
roadwork  as  the  prize-fighters  do;  and  for 
others  some  muscle-building,  especially  about  the 
middle  section,  is  most  necessary.  I  am  certain 


312  MODEEN   TENNIS 

that  Johnston  requires  it.  His  diaphragm  should 
be  like  a  piece  of  corrugated  iron  next  time  he 
strips  for  the  championship,  and  he  should  give 
it  much  'attention  inside  and  out.  So,  and  only 
so,  may  he  regain  the  title  that  means  so  much  to 
him  and  do  his  best  for  himself  and  the  game. 

There  is  another  matter  of  interest  to  which 
I  must  refer.  That  is  the  visit  to  the  United 
States  of  Ichiya  Kumagae,  the  champion  of  Japan. 
Kumagae  made  a  most  favorable  impression.  He 
is  without  doubt  a  fine  player.  The  most  inter- 
esting thing  about  his  play  is,  however,  that  he 
consistently  plays,  both  on  the  forehand  and  the 
backhand,  the  rarest  stroke  in  tennis,  the  pull. 
At  page  78  in  this  book  I  have  referred  to  it.  It 
was  left,  however,  for  Kumagae  to  use  the  stroke 
so  as  to  put  it  within  the  category  of  practical 
tennis  strokes  that  have  to  be  recognized. 

I  :have  not  seen  more  than  four  or  five  people 
play  this  stroke,  and  not  one  of  them  knew  what 
he  was  doing. 

The  stroke  is  produced  in  all  respects  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  golf.  The  ball  is  taken  low 
and  is  hit  with  a  racket  swinging  outwardly  and 
upwardly.  The  result  of  this  is  a  modified  top- 
spin  that  causes  the  ball  to  duck  or  swerve  side- 
ways. Thus  the  pull  both  on  the  forehand  and 
the  backhand  will  pass  the  net  wide  of  the  court 
and  swerve  back  into  court  especially  with  an 
assisting  wind. 

We  have  all  at  some  time  or  other  played  a 
sliced,  or  cut,  drive  down  either  the  forehand  or 


THE    MODERN   FOREHAND         313 

backhand  side  of  the  court  and  have  seen  it  curve 
out  of  the  court.  With  the  pull  it  is  the  reverse 
action,  for  on  either  hand  it  swerves  into  the 
court.  Kumagae  earned  many  points  in  this  man- 
ner. He  is  undoubtedly  the  foremost  exponent  of 
this  rare  stroke  who  is  playing  first-class  tennis. 
It  is,  however,  open  to  question  if  this  stroke  has 
anything  to  recommend  it  when  compared  with 
the  staple  forehand  drive  with  lift.  Its  outstand- 
ing quality  is  its  almost  sickening  consistency. 
Like  its  sister  stroke  the  forehand  cut,  it  keeps  on 
coming  back,  but,  on  account  of  its  modified  top, 
it  is  a  much  safer  ball  to  play,  as  one  can  cross 
the  net  so  much  higher  than  is  safe  with  the  cut 
stroke.  Against  an  expert  volleyer  the  pull,  on 
accoifnt  of  its  hanging  flight  and  its  tendency  to 
be  a  little  high,  is  a  dangerous  stroke.  It  proved 
so  with  Kumagae,  but  what  he  did  with  it  shows 
what  can  be  done  with  a  stroke  that  is  practically 
unknown  to  our  tennis  players. 

The  late  Anthony  Wilding  for  some  years  be- 
fore his  death  played  a  pulled  drive.  The  result 
was  that  he  lost  much  of  the  pace  that  he  had  in 
his  old  forehand  drive,  as,  from  the  nature  of  the 
stroke,  his  swing  back  became  more  circumscribed. 


INDEX 


ABSENCE  of  competitor,  284. 

American  service,  58,  122,  123; 
and  Dohertys,  53. 

Angles  of  court,  how  to  study, 
184. 

Anticipation,  value  of,  163. 

Arm,  left,  balance  of,  83. 

Australasian  and  English  ten- 
nis compared,  199. 

BACKHAND  DRIVE,  spin  of,  96; 
English  grip,  85  et  seq;  firm 
finish,  96;  standard,  236; 
stroke,  32;  which  side  of 
racket  to  use,  87. 

Background,  3. 

Baddeley,  W.,  157. 

Ball,  flight  of,  51;  in  play, 
touching  player,  250;  rising, 
how  to  play,  79 ;  too  close  to, 
29;  when  in  play,  249. 

Balls,  size  and  weight  of,  247. 

Barrett  H.  Eoper,  240,  243. 

Betting,  279. 

Brookes,  Norman  E.,  9,  87,  114, 
117,  129,  202,  240,  241;  and 
Davis  Cup  matches,  230;  his 
backhand,  244;  and  service, 
233 

Bundy,  Thomas  C.,  128,  244, 
245. 

Byes,  in  draw,  281. 

CALIFORNIAN  GAME,  301. 
Californian  grip,  301,  303,  304, 

308,  309. 

Caridia,  G.  A.,  219. 
Cases  and  decisions,  290. 
Centering  the  service  in  doubles, 

170. 

Center-theory,  152. 
Certainty  before  pace,  30. 
Challenge  cup,  deed  of  gift  for, 

274. 
Change  of  sides,  251. 


Chop,    52,    99;    flight    of,    99; 

must  be  played  smartly,  102; 

on  net,  71. 

Combined  doubles,  178. 
Competitor,  absent,  284. 
Court,  the,  1 ;  angles  of,  how  to 

study,  184;  how  to  mark,  4; 

plan  of,  7;  plan  of,  in  rules, 

246. 

Criticism  of  laws,  257. 
Cut  drive,  77. 

DAVIS  CUP,  how  America  can 
regain,  222;  regulations,  264. 

de  Borman,  M.  Paul,  81. 

Decisions,  290. 

Deed  of  gift  of  Challenge  Cup, 
274. 

Dimensions  of  court,  2,  3. 

Dixon,  C.  P.,  240. 

Dohertys  and  American  service, 
53 

Doherty,  H.  L.,  85,  86, 117,  214; 
late  R.  F.,  85,  86. 

Dohertys,  Messrs,  40,  41,  85, 
202;  and  stroke  production, 
88. 

Doubles,  167;  center  drive  in, 
167;  cross-court  drive  in, 
168;  ladies',  188;  lob  in,  168; 
side-line  drive  in,  168. 

Draw,  byes  in,  281;  competi- 
tors' right  to  attend,  280; 
the,  in  tournaments,  280. 

Dress,  10. 

Drive,  center,  in  doubles,  167; 
forehand  lifting,  66;  the 
backhand,  82;  with  cut,  77. 

Dunlop,  A.  W.,  202. 

ELBOW  and  backhand,  93. 

English,  and  Australasian  ten- 
nis compared,  199;  grip,  89; 
grip  of  racket,  85;  tennis, 
204. 


315 


316 


INDEX 


Evelegh,  late  B.  C.,  117. 
Eye  on  the  ball,  19,  35. 

FACT,  questions  of,  134. 

Faults,  law  of,  248. 

Feet,  position  for  backhand,  33 ; 

position  for  forehand,  28. 
Flight   of    forehand    drive,    68, 

69;  of  various  balls,  105. 
Foot-faults,  115, 130;  foot-fault 

rule,  247. 
Foot-work,    E.    N.    Williams 's 

bad,  232,  233. 
Forehand   drive   with  lift,   66; 

stroke,  27. 

Forehand,  modern,  298. 
Forest  Hills,  243. 
Form,  American  lack  of,  222; 

how  acquired,  234. 
Foul  services,  115. 
Foundation-stroke  of  tennis,  26. 


GOBERT  ANDRE,  86,  90,  244. 
Gore,  A.  W.,  90,  199,  218,  231, 
240. 


HALF- VOLLEY,  the,  36;  correct- 
ing angle,  38 ;  covering  bound, 
38. 

Handicapping,  255,  284  et  seq. 

Hillyard,  George  W.,  138,  220. 

Hold  of  racket,  14. 

IMPLEMENTS,  9. 

International,    championship 

regulations,  264;  tennis,  239. 

Interseholastic  tournaments,  289. 

JOHNSTON,  WILLIAM  M.,  298, 
299,  300.  Plates  49  and  50. 

KUMAGAE,  ICHIYA,  312,  313. 

LADIES'  SINGLES,  183. 

Ladies,  the,  140;  and  volleying, 
143. 

Larned,  W.  A.,  116 ;  his  strokes, 
234. 

Law  of  the  game  in  decisions, 
290. 

Laws,  criticism  of,  257;  of  ten- 
nis, 246. 

Let,  250;  in  service,  249. 


Lift,  52 ;  climbing  net,  71 ;  how 
to  learn,  75;  tendencies  of, 
73. 

Lifting  drive,  merit  of,  72. 

Linesman's  duties,  279. 

Lob,  backhand,  50;  cut,  107; 
dividing  the  distance,  189; 
flight  of  cut  lob,  107;  halv- 
ing distance  in,  161;  the,  49, 
160. 

Lob-volley,  the,  45. 

McLouGHLiN,  MAURICE  E.,  24, 
114,  120,  121,  127,  223,  226; 
and  overspin,  231;  backhand 
stroke,  224,  228,  236,  237; 
his  game  unbalanced,  223. 

McLoughlin  's  backhand  in 
Davis  Cup  matches,  229;  his 
follow- through,  227;  his  fore- 
hand, 225;  his  form  in  ser- 
vice and  smash,  230. 

Management  of  tournaments, 
272. 

Meers,  E.  G.,  219. 

Mixed  doubles,  178. 

Modern  forehand,  298. 

NET  BALL,  249. 

Net,  playing  too  close  to,  232; 
posts,  6 ;  single  and  double,  8. 
Newport,  119,  136. 

ODDS,  reduction  of,  284  et  seq. 

PAEKE,  J.  C.,  240,  242. 

Passing  shot,  slow,  160. 

Plane    of    force    in    California 

grip,  304. 
Pell,   T.   E.,  97;    his  backhand 

stroke,     235;     his     forehand 

stroke,  235. 
Personalities,  213. 
Plane  of  force  in  backhand,  87. 
Practise,  189. 

President  U.  S.  L.  T.  A.,  262. 
Pull,  the,  78,  298. 

EACKETS,  9. 

Eacket,  care  of,  13;  English 
grip  of,  14;  English  hold  of, 
89;  grip  of,  14;  held  firmly, 
30;  how  to  hold,  24. 


INDEX 


317 


Receiver's  partner,  position  of, 

174  et  seq. 

Reduction  of  odds,  284  et  seq. 
Best,  during  match,  252. 
Keverse  American  service,  58  et 

seq. 

Risely,  F.  L.,  218. 
Kising  ball,  how  to  play,  79. 
Eitchie,  M.  J.  G.,  216,  220,  240. 
Kotation,  effect  of,  72. 

SCORE-SHEETS,  276,  277,  278. 

Scoring,  method  of,  250,  275. 

Seabright,  135. 

Service,  18,  150 ;  alternate  deliv- 
ery, 248;  American,  58,  61, 
62,  63,  122,  123;  American, 
swerve  in  bound,  125 ;  await- 
ing the,  23;  ball  too  far  in 
front,  106;  cardinal  rules  of, 
25;  center-theory  in,  170; 
chop,  64;  forehand  cut,  52, 
55;  how  to  receive,  155; 
swerve  in  bound  of  American 
service,  125;  may  not  be 
taken  by  partner,  254;  not  to 
be  volleyed,  249;  out  of  turn, 
253 ;  placing  the,  21 ;  position 
of  receiver,  155;  return  of, 
151 ;  reverse  overhead  cut,  52, 
57,  59;  the  modern,  114;  un- 
derhand cut,  58,  60. 

Shoes,  10;  English,  11. 

Sides,  change  of,  251. 

Single  game,  the,  148. 

Sixths  system  of  handicapping, 
255. 

Slacking,  danger  of,  166. 

Slow  passing  shots,  160. 

Smash,  the,  46;  the  bounding, 
112. 

Smashing,  important  points,  47. 

Smith,  S.  H.,  218 ;  and  forehand 
drive,  231. 

Spin,  varieties  of,  52. 

Striker-out  not  ready,  249. 

Striker-out 's  partner,  position 
of,  174  et  seq. 

Strokes — Class  II,  55. 

Stroke,  foundation,  in  tennis, 
26. 


Strokes,    plain,    Class    I,    18; 

should  be  standardized,  234; 

with  and  without  spin,  17. 
Sun,  and  court,  3. 

THEORY  of  center  play,  1 
Top  spin,  52. 
Toss  for  side,  247. 
Tournament  play,  192. 
Tournaments,     regulations    for 

management,  272. 
Training,  195,  301,  311. 

UMPIRE'S  decision,  279. 
Umpiring  and  linesmen,  197. 
Unchanged  grip,  85. 
United  States  National  Lawn- 
Tennis  Association,  133. 

VAILE,  P.  A.,  116,  138. 

Volley,  the,  and  Messrs.  Doher- 
ty,  40,  41 ;  overhead,  46 ;  over- 
head backhand,  47;  th«  . 
the  cut,  111. 

Volleying  and  the  net,  43; 
axioms,  41 ;  for  ladies,  143. 

Volleys,  lifting,  112. 

WARD  HOLCOMBE,  218. 

Weight  in  stroke,  27;  transfer- 
ence of,  19,  35. 

Westchester,  136. 

West  Side  Tennis  Club,  Presi- 
dent of,  121. 

Wilding,  A.  F.,  86,  118,  1:27, 
149,  243;  and  Davis  Cup 
matches,  230;  and  forehaml, 
232;  his  backhand,  244. 

Williams,  R.  N.,  2d,  228,  l1  H  ; 
and  backhand,  232;  ami 
backhand  stroke,  232,  233; 
and  Davis  Cup  matches,  230; 
and  foot-work,  232,  233. 

Wimbledon,  137,  203,  2^4. 

Wrenn,  Robert  D.,  262,  288. 

Wright,  Deals  C.,  218. 

Wrist  and  backhand,  93 ;  firm  in 
stroke,  235;  work  in  back- 
hand, 84. 

Women,  English,  and  grip,  90. 

World's  championship,  224. 


DATE  DUE 


UCSD  Libr. 


CI 39 


f    •    ^  / 


A     000689350     7 


